Nobody Fades
by Stella Wind
Summary: When you’ve saved the worlds twice, what’s left to do? Well, if you’re Sora, then you decide to give your Nobody a separate body. Eventual SoRiKai.
1. Chapter 1

Co-written with Urplesquirrel (aka Doom Squirrel). Posted on her LJ as well at urplesquirrel(dot)livejournal(dot)com.

Main Characters: Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Roxas.

Full Summary: "Why do you need to die for me to be complete?" Sora won't settle for this, and Roxas is finding that having a heart again is a lot harder than he'd thought it would be. But if Sora, Riku, and Kairi can't figure out who's behind the new attacks, it'll be a moot point.

OoO

The tide came in slowly, eating away at the footsteps left that day and the deeper marks left from the play-fighting. Sora watched them fade, feeling deeply contented in the knowledge that another map of their actions would be etched on the sand the next day, and then day after that.

Only three weeks back, and he could almost pretend, if he wanted to, that it was just another endless summer.

_I wanted to go to the beach during summer vacation,_ he thought, and Sora knew it wasn't exactly his thought; it slid into his mind nonchalantly like it had been there all along, but it didn't quite fit.

He'd been having a lot of these thoughts lately.

"Why didn't you go?" he murmured softly to himself.

_Things... got in the way._

Faint memories came to him: missing pictures fluttering in the air, a white room, a battle that was play and then one that wasn't, silver-quick flash of a Dusk, a cocky smirk and green eyes. It was like seeing through a window smudged with grime, outlines with only hints of detail.

"Is that why you didn't go?"

_I lost the munny._ There was something evasive, but final in the answer.

Sora let it rest, leaning back, and stretching his arms towards the sky. Damp sand rubbed into his scalp, a feeling he had missed on every world.

"Sorry," Sora said. "But today was good, right? 'Cause we spent all day on the beach."

_It was fun. Like with_ --an image cut in, Kairi overlaid with an image of another girl like a ghost - brown curly hair. Riku as a much shorter, slightly chubby black-haired boy.

Sora laughed. "Riku and Pence didn't seem that alike to me."

_You'd be surprised._

Sora turned the thought over and still didn't see the connection. He shrugged, enjoying the feeling of the sand shifting under him. "If you say so."

He glanced across the islet, toward the main island and the boats coming into the harbor. The memory of lunch was faint in his belly and as low as the sun was, it had to be six at a contented sigh, Sora stood, stretched, and dangled his shoes over his shoulders, wading into the sea. Home sounded good now and not just as the abstract end to a journey.

The air and sea were both warm. Maybe he would just go check in with his mom and then go to Riku's. Maybe the two of them could go over to Kairi's and kidnap her to come back to the beach. Light a fire, and they could stay out here all night.

_Why don't you? Summer doesn't last forever._

"Except that I kind of want to do that only if I can sleep in my own bed. Weird, huh?"

"I mean, I'm glad to be home, but it doesn't feel quite right. I want to go on another adventure, but I don't want to leave home again, either."

There was a silence and then,_ I know what you mean._

"Being back is wonderful, I like talking about nothing, but..."

_School's going to start soon._

"I know. Maybe it'll help. Having something to do."

_I meant that you should enjoy the summer while you've got it._

"Maybe we should build the raft again, you mean?" Sora asked. "I mean, we never did go anywhere."

_You could. I don't know what's out there either. There must be more to your world than a small chain of islands._

Sora smiled at the thought. "That's what we thought, when we were going to sail off and find where Kairi was from."

_Was going there the point of it?_

Sora paused, water swirling around his knees. "It could have been. We were going to leave the next day, the night the Heartless came."

_I remember that._

"You do?"

_I'm you, remember. Only not exactly._

"Yeah, but I guess I'm just not used to thinking of you that way. You're you."

_I'm you. _The thought was firm._ I don't exist without you._

"But we're not the same."

_I feel because of you. My friends are yours, even Axel before he..._

"Those feelings is all yours," Sora argued.

_Are you so sure?_

"Of course I'm sure. You aren't me. You're my Nobody. There's a difference."

_Well, for one I think I'm less stubborn than you._

"But that just proves my point! You're different from me, and that means you're your own person, even if you started as just a piece of me."

_But now I'm a piece of you again. Eventually, there won't be any difference between us._ A pause, and then the distinct impression of a smart-alec grin._ And then you'll take to yourself and not get any answers, just like other crazy people._

Sora frowned, ignoring the jibe. "But you can't want that. I mean, losing all the things that make you... You instead of me."

_It's okay. I have a heart, and instead of fading into the darkness, I get to be whole. I can't describe it, but it's very... peaceful. I really don't mind it._

"It's not okay. I'll _miss_ you."

_I'll always be here._

"It won't be the same. It isn't the same. It's not enough that you--"

A flash, an image of Roxas in Twilight Town staring at the sunset.

_I couldn't feel my heart then. I knew I was missing something that everyone else had, but not what. Being whole, now that I know what it feels like... If I had a chance to go back to that body, that existence, I wouldn't take it._

"It's not fair," Sora said plaintively.

_I'm a Nobody and I can feel. That's more fair than you could imagine._

"But having a heart means giving up being you." Sora pressed. "And that doesn't seem right."

_If it means I have a heart, I'd rather be you._

"But... isn't there anything worth hanging on to? Your friends? Hayner, Pence, Olette?" he consideredOr even Axel? It was you he cared about, a lot more than he did about me."

(More images. Sitting on the clocktower in Twilight Town, flaming red hair next to him. Sea-salt ice-cream, a choked voice.)

_We're Nobodies. We don't have feelings. He didn't care about me the way you mean. He didn't have a heart._

Sora snorted. "He went through how many plots, battles, worlds just to get you back? He definitely cared about you, heart or no."

_It was more habit than anything. He needed me for something and didn't know when to stop._

Sora shook his head, and began to wade through the water again. "He wanted you back because you made him feel like he had a heart."

_He didn't have a heart._

"Well, then he had something really close to one. He _did_ feel. No one who didn't feel anything would do that much, not even for themselves. He did it for you. Do you just want to fade into me so that that doesn't mean anything?"

_Neither of us will be whole until I do. Why do you want that? You have no idea what it feels like to be without a heart. I know you think you're doing something good, but it _hurts_, Sora. _

"I feel whole with you just like this. Why do you need to _die_ for me to be complete?" He thought about it for a moment. "And besides, it's nice always having someone to talk to."

_But every time you do, you force us just a little more apart._

"How apart can we be? You're in my heart!"

_That doesn't mean that I will be if we keep doing this._

"Well, GOOD!" cried Sora. "You're a person. And you could feel. Maybe not the same way as us but you can't tell me you didn't care about Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Or that you never wanted to punch Axel in the face when he was being smug."

_Sora..._

"So being 'whole' is all you want? That's not how hearts work. We all need something more than that to be happy."

_You don't know what you're talking about._

"And you don't know what you're thinking about." Sora snapped. "You existed separately from me, that means that you're _somebody_. You're a Nobody, but you're you, not me. And I don't want you to die any more than I want any of my friends to die."

_It's not dying. As long as you're still alive, I'm still alive._

"But if there's nothing left that's_ you, _then how is that any different from Roxas being dead?"

_... I think you're selfish. I wasn't meant to exist at all, and now I can be whole again. You don't want me to be. That's not fair_.

"I want you to have your own life. That's not selfish. What do you want to die for?" A thought occurred to him and he continued more softly. "Do you just think you should, since everyone else in the Organization did? Are you feeling guilty?"

_No. I'm grateful. I'm the only one who was lucky enough to get my heart back. And I don't know why you're trying to spoil that for me._

"Because you're alive. If you died when I could do something to stop it, that's just... I watched one of my friends die." Granted, Goofy had been okay, but they'd _thought_ he was dead. "I won't let that happen again."

There was a sullen silence. It was unnerving to feel so alone in his own head. He frowned.

"Why aren't you willing to be you? Am I really that special? I don't want you to fade."

_You have to let me._

"No, I don't."

_I--_

"No. I'm not letting you fade into death," Sora said firmly. He waited for the retort.

And waited.

"Roxas?"

_Let me, please_. The last word, filled with an almost wistfulness twisted in Sora's gut.

"I'm not. You're as bad as Riku. I'm not going to let you."

_What would I do?_ His thoughts were plaintive. _The people who were important to me are gone, and I... I'm just a shadow of you. Let me fade into you. What kind of life could I even have? _

"I don't know," "But wouldn't it be fun to find out?"

After a long silence, there was a feeling like a sigh. _You are insufferable_.

"Oh yeah?" Sora grinned widely. "Let's go see Riku and Kairi. You can tell them all about it."

OoO

Next update in a week.


	2. Chapter 2

Co-written with Urplesquirrel (aka Doom Squirrel). Posted on her LJ as well at urplesquirrel(dot)livejournal(dot)com.

OoO

His mother's gazed was fixed on him as he came up the garden path. She was sitting on the porch, book in her hands, and glass of lemonade with long since melted ice. She smiled at him as he unlatched the garden gate, her shoulders relaxing.

"Hey, mom," he called up, taking the last few steps in a jump.

She greeted him with a hug, which felt a little different from what he remembered. He was an inch taller than her now and her arms no longer enveloped him completely, but he drew comfort from them all the same.

"You're a bit late," she scolded, letting him go. "I'd planned to start dinner by now."

"Sorry," he said. "I just got kinda distracted."

He hadn't actually explained Roxas to his mother, so it would've been hard to explain that he'd been having an argument with someone who technically only existed inside his heart. He'd spared his mom a lot of the details of his adventures so that she wouldn't worry so much.

"Well, I'll start it now," she said.

"Hey mom?" Sora said, as she turned to go in. "I was thinking about getting Riku and Kairi and spending the night on the beach."

He noticed the sudden slump in her shoulders, and quickly added, "If that's okay, I mean."

She looked back at him, a smile on her face, "Tell you what? How about you go invite them to spend the night here? I'd be glad to feed them dinner as well."

He thought about arguing, because the island was so important to all of them, but a sleepover here actually sounded better when he gave it a little thought. "Sure!"

"Pasta with shrimp should be fine for all of you, right?"

"Yup. Is it alright if I go get them now?"

His mother went into the house. "Go ahead, it should be ready in about twenty minutes."

"We'll be here," he called over his shoulder.

Riku's house was a little bit further away from his than Kairi's was, but Sora found his feet leading him there first. It was a long held tradition for him and Riku to race each other to Kairi's house.

He felt Roxas stir at the memories. He waited for a comment, but none came. The silence that stretched between them felt odd, filled with apprehension. Neither of them felt like the argument was over, he guessed.

Riku's bedroom was on the ground floor, so Sora cut across the yard and rapped on the window a few times. He pressed his nose up to the window and made a face against the glass, like he'd done when they were a lot littler.

Riku was laughing when he opened the window. "You dork. What is it?"

"Let's go get Kairi, and then go back to my house," he said. "My mom's making shrimp and pasta, and Roxas and I want to talk to you guys about something."

_I don't want to talk about this._

"Of course you do," Sora muttered to Roxas. "If nothing else you'll want to complain about me."

Riku raised an eyebrow, "It is so weird when you do that."

Sora looked at him, faking affront. "It's not my fault that you can't hear him."

Riku snorted. "It's not my fault that you sound crazy when you talk to him like that."

Sora rolled his eyes. "You coming?"

"Sure, my chores are done. I'll just tell my dad." Riku disappeared from the window.

"See, you and Riku can complain about me together. He can say that I look insane, and you can say I am. It'll work out perfectly."

_I know you're insane, and if he hears your idea, he'll agree_

"I have a little more faith in Riku than that."

"I'm not so sure if that's a good thing," Riku said, returning to the window.

"Of course it's a good thing," Sora said. "How would we have gotten through everything if I didn't have faith all my friends? And that _includes_ you."

Riku made a noise in response that might've been agreement, and might have been to just get Sora to shut up. He wasn't as sure about them as he'd used to be.

He climbed out the window. It was a little funny looking these days, because he'd gotten so tall. His limbs were a bit too long to manage getting through a small space too gracefully. Sora resisted laughing, and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go!" he said excitedly.

Maybe it wasn't much of one, but it felt great to be having this kind of small adventure together again.

The big tree beside Kairi's window had suffered during the last big storm. Three of the upper branches had been cracked away from the tree in high winds, as had the lowest branch, that Sora had always relied on to get off the ground. Fortunately, being a little taller and with a bit of a jump, he got to the remaining lowest branch that he hadn't been able to reach before. He shimmied up the tree, with Riku climbing up behind him. He waited until Riku was beside him, before knocking at Kairi's window

There was rusting as Riku rapped the glass, and the same blue curtains Kairi had had since she was ten where swept aside. Kairi peered out, first looking puzzled and then bemused as Sora waved.

"What are we, twelve again?" she asked, as she carefully took out the wire-mesh windscreen, and laid it inside.

"Yup," Sora said cheerfully.

Kairi shrugged, grinning. "Let me go tell mom, I'll meet you at the front door. What are we doing?"

"Dinner and sleepover, my house," Sora said.

"Too old to jump out windows?" Riku teased, grinning at her mock glare.

Kairi stuck her tongue out at him. "The branch won't hold us all. Get out of my tree before you break it, you giant."

She disappeared from the window and the two boys climbed down from the tree. They scurried around to the front of the house and stood outside waiting for her. After a few minutes, Kairi came outside.

"Like a couple of puppies," she said, a teasing smile on her face. "You just follow me everywhere."

"Except for when you two are following me, or we're following Riku," Sora said.

"True. So, your place?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sora said. "I was going to suggest the island, but mom preferred I stay home."

Kairi gave Sora a quick hug. "She's just worried."

"I know." Sora kicked a rock in his path for a few steps.

"So what is it that you and Roxas want to talk to us about?" Riku asked, as they started down the hill.

Sora sighed. "It's Roxas. He's... he's not really understanding something that well."

There was a push of emotion from Roxas at the back of his mind, a little bit anger, but mostly frustration. No words, however. Roxas seemed to be trying to ignore him.

Kairi paused in mid-step, and then jumped ahead of them a few paces and turned. "What do you mean?"

"Do you... talk with Naminé?" he asked.

"Sure, all the time. Why?"

"Has she ever mentioned, well... fading into you? Until you're just one person again?" Before she could answer, he added, "Because that's what Roxas says is going to happen to him."

"Is that true?" Kairi asked. There was a brief silence, and then she said, "Naminé says it could happen if she tried. She says she could just... what was it?" Silence again. "Go to sleep inside my heart until her dreams are just another part of me."

"Well, that's what Roxas says is going to happen to him, and I don't like it." Sora began to walk again, and he could hear Riku following after a moment.

"Could... he wake up again, if he went to sleep?" Riku asked.

"Naminé doesn't know," Kairi said after a second.

Sora wanted to ask Roxas if he knew, but he was getting the impression that if Roxas was beside them, he would have his fingers in his ears.

"Roxas won't say anything," he reported.

Riku was silent, and when Sora turned to look at him, he saw Riku frowning. Kairi, then Sora waited a moment, until they were side by side again to start walking

"I really don't want find out either," Sora added. "I don't want him to fade into me. He's a separate person. We have different dreams. If there's nothing left of him, then it's almost the same as Roxas being dead."

"What does Roxas think about this?" Riku asked.

"He's being stubborn," Sora replied, words tumbling out in a rush. "He keeps saying we're the same person and that he wasn't supposed to exist, and that means it doesn't matter if there's nothing left that's him. And well, maybe he wasn't supposed to exist anyways, but he does now and we're not the same person. I don't think it's fair that to have a heart he has to stop existing."

_You only say that because you've never just existed, you've always had a heart! _Roxas finally broke his silence, frustration boiling over._ Existing without a heart isn't living, it's just... existing. And it's awful._

"I'm not saying you would go back to existing without a heart, I'm just saying that you don't have to give up everything that makes you you to have one!" Sora snapped. "There's got to be something worth keeping."

"Back up," Riku said sharply, touching Sora's arm. "Let's all calm down."

Sora looked at Riku, but his eyes slid to follow Riku's gaze. Kairi was stiff, one hand clenched on the other arm, and her expression was sympathetic pain. Her head was cocked slightly, like she was listening to Naminé. This was probably hurting Naminé, Sora realized. Wasn't she Roxas's friend, too?

"There's us," he said quietly. "Can't you just live for us?"

_It's not a matter of living. I'm not living right now--_

"Yes, you are. You're talking with me, you feel things, you can see. How aren't you living?" Sora would admit what he just said had several holes in it, but if Roxas pointed them out, Sora was more than ready to take them on.

_Look, I told you already, this is just selfish. I'm lucky enough to have a heart and you're trying to stop me from doing the last thing it'll take to be whole. Why do you want us to be separate so much? I. Am. You. If I stay separate, you aren't complete either._

"Well, I can't tell the difference. And if there's no difference, then why do you have to fade? Naminé doesn't want to," he glanced at Kairi. "Does she?"

Kairi shook her head. "She says she's perfectly happy just as she is."

_That's doesn't mean anything. Kairi is a princess of heart. Namine is different from other Nobodies._

"And I'm the weilder of the Keyblade. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I feel so left out," Riku said. "Look, how about we have dinner --I bet the pasta's already done-- and maybe afterwards you can stop arguing with Roxas long enough to tell us all what your idea is if he's not going to fade into you?"

"We can't we just both live? I don't have an idea, that's just what I want." He sighed, slumping. Yeah, he didn't really have an idea – which made arguing this a bit pointless.

Riku put an arm around his shoulders. "Cheer up. We can think about it while we go eat dinner."

Sora started. "Oh, shoot! We're gonna be late! Come on!"

They started running for his house, and made it to the front porch just as Sora's mother was poking her head out the door to look for them.

"Good timing." She smiled/ "I just put it on the table. Good to see you, Riku, Kairi."

"Hi, Aunt Hisui," said Riku.

"What's for dinner?" asked Kairi

"Shrimp and pasta," she answered. "I'm glad to have you over. It's been almost ten hours, hasn't it?"

Sora grinned. His mom teased him about how much time the three of them spent together, but she liked them. Riku and Kairi had practically lived with him since they'd returned home, and she had no complaints.

"Hmm… more like twelve," Kairi corrected. "Do you need us to set the table?"

"No, but I will make use of you to get the laundry on the line," she said. "Not until after dinner, though."

They ate in a companionable kind of silence, other than a few questions about their day. Did you remember sunscreen? (Yes, mom.) Goodness, Riku, you're inhaling that food, did you eat lunch? (Yeah, but then they went swimming all afternoon.) Did anything interesting happen? (Not really.)

After dinner and a wet-towel fight, that Kairi would deny she had totally started, they climbed the stairs to Sora's room and flopped in their usual places on the floor.

"Well, that was fun," Kairi said, leaning back, "Have either of you thought of anything? Because Naminé and I've got nothing."

"I didn't even really think about it," said Riku, looking embarrassed.

"Well, I did," Sora said, "and the big problem is that Roxas doesn't want to think of himself as a separate person from me."

The silence in the back of his mind was remarkably sullen.

"So what I think we should really do," he began, sudden calmness coming over him, along with the knowledge that Roxas would be probably mentally yell or not talk to him for the rest of the night, if not week. "What we should do is to find a way to give Roxas a body."

_What?_

"What?" Riku echoed.

"I think it's the right thing to do. We're separate people."

_No, we're not!_

"I wonder how your mom would react to discovering she has twins," Riku laughed. "But... How would we do it?"

"That would be..." Kairi sat up, trailing off. "It would probably be very complicated. But..." She was quiet for a moment. "Would it be permanent?"

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, rolling on his side to look at her better.

_More importantly:_ this is not a good idea. _ Doesn't anyone care what I want?_

Sora just ignored the whine.

"I'm asking because Naminé says she wouldn't mind having a separate body some of the time, but that she doesn't want to always be that way."

"Well, as long as we're talking about something that might be next to impossible anyway," Riku cut in. "Why not? You could have separate bodies when you wanted and just sort of... I don't know, recombine when you're done?"

_What if you disappear, instead of me? _Roxas cried. _What if only one of us could be a complete person and the other one has to disappear? What if you're left as a heartless because I get your heart?_

"You're grasping at straws," Sora retorted. "I wouldn't disappear or become a heartless if you were separate from me. You already had a heart, had feelings."

"Why does he think you'd disappear?" asked Riku.

_Do you even know the first thing about how to create a body? You haven't messed with magic any more than you've had to. You don't know the first thing about how it works._

"I could figure it out. Plus we know a lot of people we could ask for help," Sora protested.

_You don't have any idea what could happen, _Roxas continued. _You're just leaping in blind and you might be risking your life!_

"So why don't we go ask Merlin?" Sora suggested.

"What did he say, about you disappearing?" Riku repeated.

"He was trying to scare me out of it by saying that it might go wrong and he'd end up with my heart and I could disappear," Sora waved it off. "But I don't think that could happen."

"But you aren't sure?" Riku asked. "It could happen."

"Yeah, it could," Sora shrugged, laying back down on his back. "A bag of munny could also fall out of the sky. Just 'cause it could happen doesn't mean it will."

"Don't be so flippant about it!" Riku said, sitting up, with one hand pinning Sora's shoulder. "I don't mind the idea of Roxas getting to be his own person, but I won't risk losing you."

Kairi scooted over and put a hand on Riku's, weaving her fingers into his on Sora's shoulder. She then took Sora's opposite hand, forming a loose hug around Riku. "We aren't going to die. Any of us."

After a second, Sora saw a shake that was almost a shiver ripple down Riku, and then Riku relaxed slightly. The pressure from Riku's hand eased, and Sora sat up, adding his free arm to the hug.

OoO


	3. Chapter 3

Co-written with the ever lovely Doom Squirrel (aka urplesquirrel). Posted on her LJ as well, at urplesquirrel(dot)livejournal(dot)com.

Also, Leo? If you could get an account and PM me, I can get you the contact info. The reviews are _not_ meant to be a forum board.

OoO

The lazy summer days were split almost evenly between time on the small island the three called theirs, and their home island. What time they had missed, they had desperately been trying to make up. It was early morning when they met, Kairi last to come to the beach, with bread, coconut, and jam that made their breakfast.

By unspoken agreement they waded out to the island together, and went to the beach that they had built the raft. Facing out to the seeming endless sea, it was where they played and talked about anything that popped into their minds.

"So, if the Beast's curse is broken and he isn't a beast anymore, what do we call him?" Sora asked.

Kairi shrugged. "You never asked his name?"

"No... I mean, he introduced himself as the Beast. But he must've had a real name."

"Next time we see him, we can ask," Riku said. "Or you could write Mickey and ask."

Sora knew that Riku was close to the king, with the time they had spent together in the darkness, but he had a hard time thinking of King Mickey without the 'King' attached to his name.

"Speaking of which, it's been about a week," Kairi said. "We should be getting another letter soon."

Sora sat up and shaded his eyes, scanning the horizon. "I don't see it yet."

King Mickey had been keeping in touch, even though nothing exciting had been happening. They usually got a letter every week or so, but it had been almost ten days since the last letter.

"He's been pretty busy," Riku offered. "The last message for me said that he wished that he could spend more time at the castle."

"What's he been doing?" asked Kairi, picking up a stray shell.

Riku shrugged. "Hasn't said."

Kairi opened her mouth to say something else, but her eyes focused on a distant point. Sora followed her gaze but saw nothing. With a sigh, he slumped back onto the sand.

"Maybe we could ask the King about getting Roxas his own body. He might know something," Sora offered.

_Can I mention _again_ how much I object to this idea?_

"If anyone knows where to start, it'd be him," Riku agreed.

"Let's at least try that," Sora said, agreeing with Riku, listening to the almost sputtering from Roxas.

_Can you just drop it already?_ Roxas asked.

"And Naminé, too," Sora added, ignoring Roxas's protests. "We can ask about her."

"She says she's still not sure," Kairi reported, eyes still scanning the water. "But she is curious."

After a moment, she perked up. "Hey! There it is!" she pointed.

"Alright!" Sora yelled, running for the water. "I'll get it!"

Sand flew as he ran to the water, then he waded until the water was past his knees, The bottle was bobbing past the breaking waves, but sure enough, the King's seal on it was clear and easy to make out. He swam back with one hand tightly clenched around the neck of the bottle.

"You know your mom's going to be upset that you didn't at least change into swim trunks?" Riku reminded him when he got back. "She's always complaining about the salt in your clothes anyway."

Sora shrugged. "I'll rinse them out later. Here, someone whose hands aren't wet needs to open this."

Immediately, Riku snagged the bottle and broke the wax seal around the cork as he pulled it out. He turned the bottle over and shook out the rolled letter. Breaking the King's seal, he unrolled the letter.

Sora noticed that it was just a letter from the king, no further notes rolled up with the letter from Donald or Goofy. Nothing from one of the other princesses for Kairi. Not even another letter just for Riku from the King.

Riku was frowning. "There's trouble. Mickey's sending someone for us."

"And we just got home too," Kairi murmured, taking the letter from Riku to read for herself.

"You could probably stay, if you wanted," Riku said, clearly not enchanted by the idea, but willing.

Sora winced even as Riku offered.

"And let you two go tearing off for who knows how long?" Kairi said indignantly. "No way. You're stuck with me."

Sora wiped his hands dry on Riku's shirt and reached for the letter. "Can I see that?"

Kairi handed it to him and he read the first few lines.

"_I'm sorry to give you bad news_," the letter read, "_but we've got trouble again. The Heartless are being controlled, maybe even summoned through a door to the darkness. I'd suspected it since I got back, but I didn't want to call you away from home after you'd just got back. Now that I'm sure, we need you again. I'm sending someone to get you. He should be there within a day or two of you getting this letter._"

Sora sighed. "Oh, man. Who could be stupid enough to open a new door to the darkness?"

"It could be anyone," Kairi said. "Anyone powerful enough to control the Heartless."

"And evil enough to try," Riku said, his mouth in a firm line.

Sora scuffed at sand with his foot. "At least we know that we're going, we'll have time to pack."

"And," Kairi added softly, "Time to tell our parents."

OoO

"You're back early," said his mother, taking off her reading glasses, and laying them over her work. "Did Kairi need to go somewhere with her parents?"

Sora shook his head. "Something came up. We got a letter, from the King."

"What does it say?" asked his mother, her tone too neutral.

"He needs us. There's trouble again, something about someone messing with the Heartless. We don't know who, but I'm needed."

"You're leaving again?" she concluded. She looked like she was about to cry, and Sora chewed his bottom lip guiltily.

"It won't be for very long this time," he said quickly, trying to help. "And I'll be okay. I'll have Riku and Kairi with me. The King needs us and – "

His reassurances were cut off but his mother's fierce hug. "I know you have to go. I just don't want you to. Please, just promise me you'll be careful and come home in one piece."

Sora hugged his mom back, and wondered when exactly he'd reached her height. "I promise, mom." Thinking about it for a minute, he added, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said. She let him go and wiped her eyes. "Now, let's get your bag packed. You'll forget something important like your toothbrush, otherwise."

OoO

His mother accompanied him to the beach the next morning. They met with Riku and Kairi at the beach and waded out to the island. It was just a little bit weird to have an adult there with them, but no one was about to tell her that she couldn't see them off.

"Our ride will probably be here soon," Sora said once they got to the beach.

His mother nodded.

"Promise me you'll watch out for each other?" she asked. "I know what you're doing is dangerous, and I _know_ it's more dangerous than you're telling me about. I want all of you to come back in one piece." She hugged Sora with one arm and Riku with the other. She opened her arms again and called to Kairi. "And you, Kairi. You're my kid too."

Kairi joined the hug. "Thanks, Aunt Hisui."

"What, you think I wouldn't hug any of you?" she kissed Kairi's forehead. "Besides, I can tell you aren't in a good mood."

"I had a fight with my parents over this," Kairi admitted. "I know they were just worried, but they tried to stop me from coming."

Sora winced. _That_ certainly wouldn't have gone over well.

The hug tightened. "Just come back safe, okay?"

Sora nodded, and began to say something, as gulls suddenly began to cry. Pulling away from the hug, he looked out over the stretch of coastline.

All along it, gulls and other birds flew into the air, away. Above the gulls' cries, Sora heard a faint rumble, and then the air was filled with a thundering roar. Above in the sky, a burning dot was growing larger and larger.

The dot grew larger still, faint shapes taking on the recognizable form of a gummi ship. Then, the noise died and the air stilled. The shrill cries of the gulls filled the air again as the ship landed, throwing sand into the air.

The hatch popped open, and Sora stared.

_No._ The protest was almost a shout in his head. _It... it's not!_

"It's not," he murmured, though he'd had the same gut reaction. The man wasn't Axel. His hair was the same color, his face and eyes similar and he carried himself the same way, but the man wasn't Axel.

A wave of relief hit him from Roxas.

_It's not him._

"He could have been this guy's Nobody," Sora said quietly.

_It's _not_ him_, Roxas snapped. _It's just an uncanny resemblance_.

"So, you three kids the ones?" the man called. "Got your Keyblades and all that?"

With a flick of his wrist, Riku called his Keyblade up, and then dismissed it.

"Show off," whispered Sora.

Riku grinned at him, and then faced the other man. "We have our stuff. I'm Riku, and this is Sora and Kairi. You are?"

"Name's Reno. " He squinted at them. "And you?"

"Hisui. I'm Sora's mother." She had drawn herself up to her full height, a hand coming to rest on Sora's shoulder.

Reno blinked. "You ain't coming, are you?" he ventured, looking taken aback.

"Just seeing my kids off." Sora wasn't sure, but it almost felt like there was a warning in there, somewhere.

"Right. I know the drill, yo." Reno said, shrugging languidly, stepping aside so Kairi could get onto the ship.

Sora gulped. The shrug and that tone had been much too similar for comfort. "Did you see that?"

_Not him._ Roxas sound choked, like he wanted to say something else.

"See what?" asked his mother.

Sora looked at her guiltily. "Nothing, mom. Just..."

"Just Sora being Sora," said Riku, brushing by with his bag over his shoulder. He shoved Sora's backpack at him. "We can and will go without you," he teased.

Sora shot a look of gratitude at him. "It's a tight schedule, isn't it?"

"Yeah, no shit!" yelled Reno from hatch of the gummi ship. "I'm only doing this as a favor to Cloud. The sooner we're up, the sooner I'm back in Radiant Garden."

With one last hug, Sora broke away from his mother, and boarded the gummi ship.

Reno shut the hatch behind him, and pointed him to the open seat, before sitting in pilot seat, running his hands over the flight board. After a moment, the ship shuddered to life.

"Y'know," Reno began, as the ship gained altitude, and the speck that was his mother blended into the ocean. "You shouldn't talk to that person in your head out loud. Makes people look at ya funny."

"Someone told you about Roxas?" Sora asked.

"Half of Radiant Garden knows, yo. And about half of them are convinced he's gonna turn you evil."

Sora frowned, "Why? I mean, he's not the same as me, but he's not that much different, either."

Reno shrugged, "People are stupid like that."

_See?_ Roxas said, _imagine how they'd react if I was walking next to you. Just leave well enough alone._

_No._ Sora replied simply. _It's not 'well enough' yet_

OoO


	4. Chapter 4

As always, cowritten with the lovely Doom Squirrel (aka urplesquirrel) and this can also be found on her LJ at: ht tp:/ .c om

OoO

The flight passed awkwardly, and by the end of it, Kairi was talking only to Naminé. Sora had continuously been staring at Reno and making small, almost abortive remarks to Roxas. Riku had simply sat silently, his 'I don't want to talk about it' face firmly on.

Talking to Naminé had soothed her raw nerves. The conversation she had with parents before they had left had not gone the way she had wanted it. It hadn't been the worst fight she'd had (that unhappy title still belonged to the argument that had led to her spending almost two weeks at Sora's when she was ten), but it was still up there.

By the time they landed, she had mostly come to terms with what she had said. It was true, and as Naminé pointed out, at least they hadn't tried to stop her after what she had said.

She'd never actually been to Castle Disney before, and looking around was enough to distract her from her lingering sense of guilt.

"Sora! Sora!"

Kairi stepped out of the way as Donald and Goofy came running up to greet them.

"Donald, Goofy! Great to see you again!" Sora said, with a huge grin.

"Where's King Mickey?" Riku asked, a slight pause before king, as if he'd only just remembered to add it in there.

"Well," said Reno, peering out from the entrance to the gummi ship. "My work here is done, yo. I'm getting back to Radiant Garden before anyone else asks me to do a _favor_ for them."

Sora looked at him, with that odd half grin and haunted eyes that made Kairi want to hug him. "See you around then."

Reno waved and shut the hatch. A moment later, the gummi ship began to shake, then lifted off, and was lost in the sky.

"Gosh, Sora, you don't look so good. Is something wrong?" Goofy asked, pulling back a little. Beside him Donald hopped a little, getting a better look at Sora's face.

Sora looked at them for second, like he didn't understand what they had said, and then shook his head. "Nope, everything is good." He hugged Goofy again, picked up Donald and swing him around, despite Donald's quacking protest.

_I hate it when he lies_, Kairi thought to Naminé. _Anyone can tell he's upset_.

_I'm pretty sure it's Roxas who's upset_, Naminé replied. H_e didn't like Reno much._

_How could you tell? _Kairi asked. _You can't talk to him directly either... can you?_

_No, I just know I would be upset if I met someone who looked and acted a lot like my best friend who died._

"Oh," Kairi said quietly.

She tapped Goofy on the shoulder. "I hate to spoil the fun, but... the king wanted to see us?"

"Oh, right," he said, looking sheepish. "Come on, we shouldn't keep the king waiting!"

Goofy led the way, talking with Sora about some shield or another they had found in their travels, and how the castle arms master hadn't seen the enchantments used on it before. Kairi listened with half an ear.

She was curious, but none of her thoughts coalesced into a solid question. Not one that she didn't already know the answer too, at any rate; asking if Roxas missed Axel seemed like a very stupid question. Finally, she settled on asking if Naminé wanted her to say something to Sora, for him to tell Roxas.

_That would be a little roundabout, wouldn't it?_ Naminé replied. _Besides, anything I could tell Roxas right now that might help would be rather private. _

Kairi shrugged, leaving the offer open.

They turned a corner and went through a door, and were greeted by Pluto's enthusiastic barking. Kairi reached down and scratched his ears.

"Hey, everybody. It's good to see you again."

Kairi looked up to see the king and another mouse she assumed was Queen Minnie (she hadn't actually met her) walking toward them.

"Hi, your majesty!" said Sora. Riku's greeting was a more subdued handshake, although she could tell he was very pleased to see the king again.

"I'm sorry I had to call you away from home so soon," the king said. "I'd hoped we'd have at least a little time before things got bad again."

"It's okay," Kairi said. "So, what's the problem?"

The king looked grave. "Like I said in the letter, someone is summoning the Heartless again. They've appeared on several worlds already, and are only spreading."

"Which worlds?" Sora asked. "Do want me to lock the Keyholes again?"

"That would only work for a little while," the king said. "None of the worlds have been destroyed yet. If we're lucky, we might be able to stop this before any are."

"Is it Maleficent again?" Riku asked, in the same tone he would ask about the weather, expect for the slight hitch in it as he said the name.

"No, we know that much," the king replied. "Merlin was here yesterday. He doesn't know who it is either, but we're pretty sure its not her."

"Hades or Ursula?" asked Riku.

"None of the usual suspects. I've already checked them."

"Someone new?" Sora groaned. "Just great."

Mickey smiled a little. "I know. But what I know is that whoever's doing to has to be a strong magician. And when we start poking around, they'll come looking for us. If we're fighting the Heartless, that'll mess up their plans and they'll find us to make us stop."

"'We?'" Riku asked. "Are you coming with us?"

"No," Mickey said, shaking his head. "I'd like to, but we'll get more done if we've got more groups. I have a friend from one of the worlds who contacted me yesterday, I'm gonna be going with him."

"Your majesty?" Kairi asked. "Before we all run off, there's something we'd like to ask you about."

"What is it?"

"Sora had an interesting idea," Kairi said slowly. "We, that is, both Sora and me, were wondering if it is possible to somehow let Roxas and Naminé have their own bodies."

The king blinked. "I can't think of anything, but there could be something in the library. You're welcome to look tonight."

"Thank you."

"If we aren't going to be looking for Keyholes, what are we going to be doing?" asked Riku. "Just fighting the Heartless isn't going to be enough, I think."

"No, it isn't," the king agreed. "I know several magicians and such that I haven't been able to talk to yet. I'm think that one of them might know something. The Heartless are focusing on different worlds this time, which may mean a very different person is summoning them. Some of these worlds are far away enough that I can't go. So asking I'm asking you."

Riku nodded. "You can count on us."

"I've got a list of a few worlds for you to check," the king added. "When you're done, you'll come back here and tell me what you found, and I'll tell you what I found, and we'll go from there."

"And while you're talking to these magicians, you can find out if they can help you with Roxas and Naminé," the queen added.

"Sounds great," Sora said. "So, when do we get started?"

"Tomorrow," Mickey said. "This might be a lot harder than what we've done before, so at the very least you can get a good night's sleep before you go."

"Are Donald and Goofy coming too?" asked Sora.

Kairi noticed that Riku's expression had frozen slightly.

"No, we need to cover more worlds to find whoever this is quickly."

Riku looked like he wanted to say something, but his features smoothed.

However, this didn't seem to fool the king. "Riku, you can say whatever it is. I won't be mad at you."

"Just don't split us up." Riku looked away. "Our luck tends not to run so well when we're not together."

"I wasn't going to," he said. "I wouldn't be sending anyone out alone."

"Uh, so who's the friend _you're_ going with?" Sora asked.

"A friend I met a long time ago, before I was the king," he answered. "I'm sure you'll meet him at some point."

_I wonder why he doesn't want us to know?_ Naminé asked softly.

_Maybe the friend asked him not to tell us?_ Kairi suggested. She wondered, too, but didn't ask.

"Well," she said. "If we aren't leaving until tomorrow, where's the library?"

OoO

The library was amazing. Kairi would be willing to bet there were more books in this room than in all the libraries on the Islands put together. She had always liked reading, although it wasn't as exciting now that she'd had so many adventures of her own. The books seemed dull in comparison with fighting alongside Sora and Riku, summoning up her courage and leaping through a darkness portal, or looking up at the heart-shaped moon in the World That Never Was. But it was still enough to make her gasp.

"We could spend years in here," she said in awe, looking up at the shelves.

"I wonder how we're going to find anything that'll help?" Sora asked.

"Look for a card catalogue," Riku suggested. "If they have this many books, they must keep them organized somehow."

"But where do we start?" Kairi stared up at the rising shelves. "What subjects do we look up? I don't think we're going to find a book all about giving Nobodies bodies.

"Look for books about possession, conscious transference, replicating bodies, and such," Riku decided.

Sora sighed. "It's a start."

It was Riku who finally found the shelf in the corner that had an inventory of all the books in the library. Fourteen books made up the inventory record, in some of the smallest print Kairi had seen.

Kairi ended up taking a small set of history books that seemed to mention hearts enough to rate a reference in the inventory books. She sat down to read skimming through large block of text for anything that looked promising. Naminé was surprisingly helpful here - it was like having an extra set of eyes. Together they made it through several chapters of the book, until Kairi was fed up.

_That's it_, she said. _Next one, please. If I read one more 'perchance' I'm going to scream._

Naminé giggled. _It was really dry, wasn't it? But I doubt we're going to find anything exciting in this stuff._

Kairi grabbed the next book, and opened to the index, giving it a quick look-through for anything possibly useful. She stopped when she saw a term.

_Hearts, Princess of pgs. 107, 223-4, 436-441, 507._

_What on earth?_ What was there about them in a book?

_You should look at it_, Naminé encouraged her. _Maybe there's something interesting_.

Kairi stared at the book, and then flipped to the first mention. It was a just a mention. A Princess of Heart had been drawn into a war and killed. No name, no mention of what she had done, and all that was said about the war was that it had been between two worlds.

_I wonder how a war between two worlds happens_, Naminé said softly.

_Sora once said that in one the reports he'd read, it mentioned a legend about how a wielder of a Keyblade brought ruin to a world._

A pause._ It makes you wonder, doesn't it?_

_Not too much, I think_, Kairi decided. _I mean, we know what Keyblades do. I don't have the first idea what being a Princess of Heart means, other than being a target for kidnapping._

She turned to the next reference. A Princess of Heart had married a hero of a different world, and had caused some trouble by choosing her love over her world.

_Well, I doubt _I'll _have that problem_, she thought. She skipped the rest of the story and turned to the next reference - the long one. It was actually a subsection on the Princesses, titled "On the Nature of the Princesses of Heart."

_Finally!_ she thought. _Something useful._

Unfortunately, it wasn't. In five and a half pages, all it managed to tell her was that Princesses of Heart had no darkness in their hearts, and that when harm befell them it befell their worlds as well. There was also a little musing on why only women ever had this power (they called it a 'power,' but if it was a power, how could it be used?), which only served to irritate her.

"Well," she said out loud. "That was completely useless."

"Don't get me started," Sora groaned several shelves down. "I don't think any of these guys know how to summarize." He flipped the book he had on his knees shut with a sigh, shoving it back into its place.

"There has to be something in the library, somewhere, that's going to help us," Kairi said as she noticed his frown.

Sora grabbed another book. "But we really only have tonight to look right now. I don't think we're going to find it."

Kairi had to agree, as her eyes swept over the sheer vastness of the library. It was too large to hope to look through in a week, let alone a night. She settled on turning to the next entry, rather than telling Sora this; he looked too sad as it was.

It was much in the same vein as the first two entries, mentioning a Princess of a world Kairi had never heard of, and how she and another Princess of Heart had 'a legendary friendship' that had created a lasting bond between two worlds. While slightly more uplifting than the other entries, it answered none of Kairi's questions.

"Hey, Riku!" Sora called. "You found anything?"

"Plenty," Riku answered. "But while the history of Tamriel and the immortal master thief is interesting, it's not anything close to what we're looking for."

Sora sighed. "Yeah. I read some stuff about the Nobodies, but nothing that could help. They were a two-page section in this book." he waved it vaguely.

_As far as I know_, Naminé said, _Roxas and I are the only two Nobodies who have ever managed to become whole again. We might be better off just asking the magicians. This is probably something totally new._

Kairi conveyed Naminé's suggestion. "After all," she finished, "we're going to be talking to them for the king, it won't take any more time."

"That's as good an idea as any," Sora muttered, pushing away the book he'd waved. "These don't seem useful. I'm not even sure if they're talking about Nobodies, really. It talks about the 'unfeeling survivors.' For all I know, it could just mean apathy."

Riku shrugged. "A magician might be able to tell us what books to look at, which would be more than what we know now."

"Have you asked Donald if he knows anything?" Kairi asked.

"We didn't even know what the Nobodies where when we first found them. Donald knows a lot more on the practical aspects of magic, not this... guesswork," Sora finished, glowering at the books.

Riku sighed loudly, leaning against a bookcase. "Maybe we ought to stop for now. We probably have an early start tomorrow, and we'd be better off getting some rest."

"I hate giving up," Sora grumbled. "But we haven't found anything useful and Roxas is in an even worse mood than he was when we got here."

"Don't get all mopey. We've barely started yet," Kairi said. "And Naminé has a really good point. What we're thinking about has almost definitely never been done before, so we're not likely to find much in books."

Sora brightened up. "Yeah. I just was hoping this would be... I dunno, simple."

Riku laughed. "When's the last time we ever did something simple?" He put away the book he was holding and stretched his legs. "I'm going to go walk around. I'd like to visit with Mickey for a little bit before we have to leave again."

"I should probably talk to Donald and Goofy too," Sora said, jumping up. "Donald said that he had some potions that he wanted to give me."

"Kairi?" asked Riku.

"I want to look a little bit more," Kairi said.

Riku nodded, and then made a jibe at Sora that Kairi only half heard as they left the library.

_Are you going to try another book?_ Naminé asked.

_Several, if I have too. Princess of Heart seems a more solid term than Nobodies. I might have better luck._

Almost two hours later, after wading though the most misogynistic, arrogant, chauvinistic piece of crap she had ever read, Kairi was ready to scream.

In another book, just for a few sentences, there had been something about a Princess and a wielder of a Keyblade. She couldn't quite tell if the Princess had been the wielder of the Keyblade, due to somewhat shaky translation that had been done on the book.

"Why are you still here?"

Kairi turned to see Riku.

She huffed out in frustration, "I was reading about Princesses of Heart. I was trying to figure out of there was anything _useful_."

"Going by that scowl, I'm going to guess there wasn't?" Riku said. "That's definitely not the look of a triumphant Kairi."

Kairi closed the book with a satisfying thud. "Not a single thing. Princesses of Heart have no darkness in their hearts, they have a very strong connection to the world they originate on, and are always girls because they're delicate and need to be _protected_. Ugh! I don't want to be protected! I want to be able to protect people!"

She summoned her Keyblade, and turned it over in her hands. "I know I can. I know being a Princess of Heart has to mean _something _more than that."

Riku put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, I don't know anything about being a Princess of Heart, but..." he touched her Keyblade. "Sora and I can definitely make sure you know how to use this. You've got more to learn, but you definitely aren't defenseless, even if being a Princess of Heart doesn't give you any real powers."

Kairi hugged him. "Thanks, Riku."

He returned the hug. "No problem. Just come back to our rooms so Sora can borrow your toothpaste. He forgot his."

Kairi pulled back to regard him suspiciously. "And why can't he borrow yours?"

Riku didn't answer, instead taking her hand, dragging her out of the library.

"Hah!" Kairi crowed. "You forgot yours too!"

OoO

Next update is July 11th, 2009.

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Cowritten with urplesquirrel, and crossposted on LJ.

**NOTE ON WORLDS VISITED:**

This is our only non-Disney world.

We talked about others, but we wanted to make sure that all the worlds used were well-known, and the source material could be compacted into a world logically. Also, there were certain plot requirements to be met.

If you don't know anything about the CATS musical, you can look it up on Wikipedia, though we did try to keep that from being necessary.

OoO

They got an early start, even with Sora dragging out his goodbyes to Donald and Goofy, but Riku was in a much better mood stepping on to the gummi ship than he'd been leaving Destiny Islands. Getting a chance to talk to Mickey again helped, immensely.

The first world on their list was farther out than Sora had ever been, so they didn't really know what to expect. Sora said that how far out the worlds were had nothing to do with how weird they were, though. After all, look at how close Wonderland had been.

This world didn't look like much from space, only a few giant buildings that that rose up, with smaller ones crowded around. It was dark, but some of the buildings and streets looked lit.

"Ready?" asked Sora. His hand was resting on a lever which he said should activate the landing sequence. Riku was pretty sure it was too, as the only thing Sora had been wrong about so far had been reading the map that Mickey had given them.

"Let's go," Kairi said.

Sora pulled the lever.

The world went sideways, and Riku was thrown off balance. For a moment, he wondered if Sora had been wrong about the lever after all, but when everything stopped spinning, he was definitely lying on the ground, not the floor of the ship. He tried to get to his feet.

...And promptly fell over, given that he was completely the wrong shape.

"Riku? Kairi?" Sora called. Riku looked around to see a little brown cat, and a spotted gold one.

"We're fine," answered the gold cat -- oh, it was Kairi. "We just... seem to have too many feet."

The Sora-cat looked at Riku and started to laugh.

"What?" Riku asked, irritably, carefully working out how to stand on four paws rather than two feet.

"Is there a mirror around here somewhere?" Sora laughed. "You're a fluffy white cat!"

Riku looked down at his paws, and then twisted over to look at his back. His tail swished in annoyance. "Shut up, Sora."

Sora made one last snicker, before bounding over to Kairi in two perfect leaps.

"You figure it out yet?" he asked, peering at her face.

"I think so," Kairi said slowly, and then bumped her nose with Sora's. "You kinda have to not think about it, I guess. I mean, my body knows what to do, but I don't."

Riku thought about that for a second. It made sense. What was probably a matter of muscle memory in this body --like moving his tail-- were things that he'd never thought about doing as a human. With that in mind, he thought about walking to where Kairi and Sora were, but didn't concentrate on the way he needed to redistribute his weight or in what order he had to move his paws.

"It's actually a little easier," he said when he reached them. "At least it's my own body --it's just a different shape."

Sora snickered again.

Riku hissed, and pounced on him, to a loudly meowed protest. "Stop laughing at me!"

"All you need is the crazy old cat lady!" Sora laughed. "You just look so ridiculous!"

"Shut up," Riku said, hitting Sora with a paw.

"Knock it off, both of you!" Kairi said, jumping up and pushing Riku off of Sora. "We need to get going and find whoever it is we're looking for."

"You'll able to find them at the Jellicle Ball tonight," yawned someone. A moment later, Riku saw him, leaping down from a car. A black body and a patched ruff almost let him blend into the darkness.

Riku looked up, and saw a bright moon shining down. It gave him an odd feeling.

"Is that here?" asked Kairi.

"And there," answered the cat, sniffing.

"Sorry, we really aren't from around here," apologized Sora.

The cat looked at them. "Strange kittens, that's what you are." He stretched, and then stood up on his hind legs. "Welcome, I suppose. New cats are always worth a sniff."

He walked toward them, still on his hind legs. "I'm Rum Tum Tugger. Who are you, kitten?" The last was aimed at Kairi. Riku got the distinct impression he was flirting.

"I'm Sora," Sora said, apparently completely missing this. He was trying to stand on his hind legs like Rum Tum Tugger, but it was a bit wobbly.

"My name is Kairi," she said, waving a paw.

"Riku," Riku answered shortly. For some reason, he didn't like Rum Tum Tugger very much.

"Strange names," said Rum Tum Tugger. "Who was it you were looking for? I might --oh no!" His ears flattened and his mouth opened in a hiss. "Not them again!"

Black shadows moved as shadows shouldn't. Glowing amber eyes was all that Riku needed to see. Way to the Dawn materialized in his paws, and he leaped, slashing. Sora was to his left, and he knew that Kairi was only a half leap behind.

These Heartless looked almost like black cats, but moved differently. The fluidness they held themselves with was different from most, but they still leaped at them like Heartless.

In a few heartbeats, only they and Tugger were left in streetlight. Riku wasn't certain if they had destroyed all of them and thought he saw one or two still watching them from the darkness.

"What kind of cats are you?" asked Rum Tum Tugger, sounding amazed. "You killed those things like they were baby mice!"

Riku winced at that.

"We've fought Heartless before," Sora said, waving the Keyblade casually.

"Heartless?" he echoed. "Is that what they're called? And what are those things?" he sniffed the Keyblade. "I've never known a cat who needed anything other than his claws!"

"It's a Keyblade," Sora answered.

"Well, if it can kill the shadow-cats, then you definitely need to speak to Old Deuteronomy." Rum Tum Tugger looked thoughtful and then jumped onto the car. "This way!"

Riku's ears pricked at the name, but he didn't spare a thought to his body doing weird things around him. When he'd gotten the list from Mickey, Deuteronomy had been a name on it. It must've been a long time since Mickey had been here for him to have become Old Deuteronomy.

He truly hoped they would find the answer here, as the third world on their list was one he did not want to go to. Just the thought of visiting Maleficent's original world was enough to scare him stupid.

"This way," Rum Tum Tugger called, jumping back on the car. "It will twist Munkustrap's whiskers to no end that I found the answer before he did!"

It took a few tries, but they all got up onto the car. Rum Tum Tugger looked disapproving. "You'd think you'd never jumped before. How can you be such good fighters when you're all kittens?"

"We're not that young," Sora protested. "We just haven't gotten the hang of it yet."

"Jumping is jumping," Tugger replied. "You're very strange cats. I don't think you're Jellicles at all."

"What makes a Jellicle a Jellicle then?" asked Kairi.

Rum Tum Tugger sneezed. "There's a whole section of the ball devoted to that question. But if you can't jump, you have no chance of dancing."

Riku wondered if they were going to have to dance. He wasn't too bad at it --he knew some very basic dances, but he'd always felt very self-conscious whenever he'd tried. And he didn't have the first idea how cats danced.

Tugger led them down the other side of the car and then past what looked to be a broken washer. At first, the area seemed empty, but as Riku looked around, he saw that there were other cats everywhere, skirting around the edges of the cleared space.

"Munkustrap!" Tugger yelled to a gray-striped cat. "We've got visitors."

"New kittens," said the striped cat, looking very harried. "Yes, very exciting. Why do you feel the need to point them out to me?"

"They're special," Tugger answered. "Has Old Deuteronomy arrived yet?"

"Of course not, the ball hasn't even started yet!" Munkustrap snapped. "Go away, all of you! I am very busy."

Riku obediently backed away from the angry cat. Kairi also took the hint, but she had to get Sora's ear between her teeth to get him to move.

"He's usually nicer," said Tugger. "But the ball ruffles his fur like nothing else." He shrugged. "Well, Old Deuteronomy will get here when he gets here. You're new, so why don't you go talk to the other kittens?"

Riku was quickly getting sick of being called a 'kitten'.

"What are you going to do?" asked Sora.

Tugger stretched. "I will do what I do. Now scamper off with the other kittens. Old Deuteronomy comes even later than me."

Riku suspected that they were more or less being told to go to the kiddy table. "What's going to happen next?"

"_I'm _going to ask why Quaxo is opening the ball." With that, Tugger left them.

"Contrary and unreliable," purred a cat, slinking to Kairi's side. "Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat." Her moon-lit eyes flickered over them. "But not curious enough to _see_. Why are you both two cats?"

Riku felt his ears prick.

"You can see them?" asked Sora.

"I'm a Jellicle. Have you figured out what that means yet?"

"Not really," Sora sighed.

She looked at them, slit-eyes cool and distant.

"Hmm... Allegorical cats, metaphorical cats, statistical cats and mystical cats." She sounded like she was reciting something well known. "You aren't Jellicles. You aren't even really cats, are you?"

"Um..." Sora said. "Well, we are when we're here, but... not when we're anywhere else."

"Ah, you're from another world." She rolled on her back and stretched. "But why are there three cats when there should be five?"

"We were kind of hoping that we could find someone here who could help us with that," Kairi said. "There are a lot of magicians on this world, right?"

The cat rolled back onto her stomach. "You're looking at one," she said. "But I've never even heard of two cats sharing one body before. Perhaps if you could find Mistoffelees..."

"Mistoffelees?" Riku asked.

"The most magical cat of all," she said. "But we never know when he'll appear."

"Have you ever met him?" Riku asked.

"We all have," she said. "He's just unrecognizable unless he wants to be."

Riku was going to press further, but Kairi licked his cheek and completely distracted him. He looked at her, and the 'let it go' was clearly written on her face.

"So, are you the cats that have made Rum Tum Tugger fake reliability?" asked another tom-cat, stalking over.

"Hello, Quaxo," purred the cat they had been talking to. "Don't tell me Munkustrap is letting him open?"

"Yes, and what a terrible bore Rum Tum Tugger will be," Quaxo replied, but there was heat missing in his words. Instead, he was looking at them closely, sniffing carefully. "You aren't cats."

"Um..." Sora said.

"It's a long story," Riku jumped in, as he saw Sora founder. "And very complicated."

"Of course. Good stories always are," Quaxo said. "We have the whole opening of the ball, and probably more, if he indulges in his grandstanding. But first, your names, as those are quite a particular matter."

"Oh, I'm Sora," Sora said. "And these are my friends, Riku and Kairi."

"Strange names," the little tom said. He smiled. "I like them. This your first ball?"

"Yes," Kairi answered. "Um... do you know when Old Deuteronomy will arrive? Rum Tum Tugger said we should talk to him."

"It's hard to say," said Quaxo. "He's quite old, you see. His legs are tottery, so he must go slow. But he will be here. And then we'll have the performance."

"Performance?" Riku asked.

"Of the Aweful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles," he answered, and Riku could hear the capitalization, "and Growltiger's Last Stand, but only if Gus is up to it. Between you and me." He lowered his head conspiratorially. "I don't think he will be. He's even older than Old Deuteronomy. He's almost certain to be the Choice this year."

"Choice?" Sora asked.

"The cat who can be reborn, going to the Heavyside Layer. Old Deuteronomy announces the Choice just before the dawn."

"Will we be able to talk to him after that?" Kairi asked.

"There should be plenty of time, once the performance is over. Unless you've heard about any other performances, Cassandra?"

Cassandra yawned. "There's been yowling about Jennyanydots, but I think that may be Munkustrap campaigning for her to be the Choice."

"Jennyanydots?" asked Quaxo, sniffing. "Really?"

"Disappointed, Quaxo?"

"She has plenty of life left in her. Just look at what she does when the family is asleep. ...Although I must say that teaching _mice_ isn't a sign of the best mental health."

"I wonder how Mickey fared on this world," Riku commented in an undertone.

Kairi winced.

"I think that's why he sent us," whispered Sora.

"Oh, dear," Quaxo said, looking out at the dancing, which had suddenly ceased. "She's back."

Cassandra hissed in distaste, and bounded away.

A very tattered old cat had entered the area. She walked slowly and ponderously, as though every movement caused her to ache. Some of the cats approached her nervously, but then scurried away or were ushered away by other cats. For the most part, they all stayed out of her way, refusing to make eye-contact, but staring at her with clear distaste.

It was one of the saddest sights Riku had ever seen. He wanted to look away, but wasn't sure if that would be kinder.

"Who is that?" asked Kairi.

Quaxo shook his head sadly. "Would you have ever supposed that cat was once known as Grizabella, the glamour cat?"

"What _happened_?" Sora demanded.

Quaxo licked at a paw. "Once," he said finally, as Grizabella haunted the edges of the ball again. "The moon smiled upon her, and she was a beautiful. She took much comfort in it, and the moon became her favored companion. Now all she has is memory."

"But why is everyone turning away from her?" Kairi asked, "Just because she's old and not beautiful anymore?"

"No. She fought and then left us. Traveled and flitted about the no-man's land. By the time that she came back, she looked she'd ought to be dead. Most think that it was only what she deserved."

Riku shuffled uncomfortably, and watched a new remarkably fat cat be greeted, trying his best to not listen to Quaxo explain the reasoning of the other cats to Sora and Kairi. He could understand, almost. He'd thought of most of them, after he had gone through the door into darkness.

He'd been lucky, he knew. He _deserved_ to be shunned the way Grizabella was (or even worse -- she hadn't made a deal with evil and abused the powers of darkness), but instead Sora and Kairi had forgiven him, and accepted him back like he'd done nothing wrong. And it had been so simple for them that they couldn't quite get why he was so grateful. But, of course, not everyone could be so lucky.

Grizabella slunk out of sight completely as the fat cat sang about the restaurants at which he liked to eat. The cats had forgotten her as soon as she'd gotten out of their sight.

"That doesn't seem fair," Sora said. "I mean, she may have made some mistakes, but everyone deserves a second chance."

Riku sighed. "Even if they do, not everyone gets one."

"She should get one," Sora stated, looking at him. It was interesting that his eyes were still the same as ever, resolution shining clearly. Sora rubbed his cheek against his, and Riku knew without a doubt getting Grizabella a second chance had just become a crusade for Sora.

And probably for more reasons than just Grizabella herself.

The idea sparked a sense of warmth in him, but Riku shook it off. "Remember, Mickey's counting on us to find out if anyone knows about who's summoning the Heartless."

"We'll get that," Kairi assured. "But I think that we should at the very least try to talk to Old Deuteronomy about it too."

Rum Tum Tugger bounded over to them. Riku found his back arching a bit involuntarily, and he sat down quickly.

"There you are!" he said. "You haven't been dancing at all. Don't you like me, kitten?" he asked, sidling up to Kairi.

Kairi leaned away from him. "We've just been watching."

"Well, stop watching!" Tugger said. "Join the party! Do you want to dance with me?" he asked.

"Maybe later," Kairi said politely.

Tugger shrugged, sitting down between Kairi and Riku, and Riku was suddenly ready to chew his ears off. He was being impossible! Why didn't Kairi tell him off? She clearly wasn't interested in the flirting.

Riku was about ready to tell the tom off himself when Tugger's ears pricked up.

"Oh!" he said. "Old Deuteronomy is here!"

Riku followed his gaze to an old cat, larger than the rest. His coat was grey, long, and a bit shabby. He walked slowly, but his pace was steady enough. Cats crowded around him, smiling and greeting him as if he was father to all.

Even Tugger swept him a bow when he glanced over.

Riku felt the weight of Old Deuteronomy's gaze for a moment, before he returned to greeting the other cats.

Kairi was the first to find her voice again. "He's the one we need to see alright. When can we talk to him?"

Tugger's tail rose proudly. "I could take you to him now. It would cause such a tangle in performances," he added with glee.

"Well," Sora said. "This is important, and it shouldn't take too long to ask him some questions. Okay, let's go!"

Rum Tum Tugger grinned at them, and leapt into the crowd of cats. They followed as well as they could, although Riku could tell a lot of cats were really annoyed at them. Apparently Tugger was very good at that.

They ran into the gray striped cat again just before reaching Old Deuteronomy. Tugger tried to pass, but Munkustrap blocked his way.

"Oh, no, you don't," he said, teeth ever-so-slightly bared. "You derive all of your amusement from annoying as many cats as you possibly can, and I won't let Old Deuteronomy be one of them."

"But I told you already," Tugger protested. "These kittens are special."

"We really do need to see him," Sora interjected earnestly.

"No. If you absolutely insist, talk to him after the Choice." He fixed Tugger with a long, unblinking stare. "And don't you dare try to make this into a worse mess."

"But there's nothing that I enjoy more than a horrible muddle," Tugger said, unrepentant.

Munkustrap hissed. "Go pounce on some other cat right now. I'm sure you can cause one there."

Discreetly, Riku batted at one of Sora's paws, and then jerked his head away. Tugger's antagonization of the other cat was probably something they wanted to stay out of.

"But..." Sora started to protest. "We really need..."

"I know," Riku replied in a hissing undertone. "But we also _don't_ need to start a fight here."

"Let me," Kairi said, sliding between them. She stopped in front of Munkustrap. "We really aren't trying to cause trouble," she said. "But we need to speak to Old Deuteronomy. It's important. It's about the Heartless."

Munkustrap regarded her coldly. "The what?"

"The shadow-cats Macavity's been sending to attack us!" Tugger said.

"You know about them?" Munkustrap asked.

"Yes," Kairi answered.

"How do I know you aren't working with Macavity?" he asked suspiciously. "He's been known to be in league with most _troublemakers_." he shot a nasty glance at Tugger.

"Munkustrap."

The striped cat froze.

Old Deuteronomy had spoken.

"Let them come."

With a proud swish of his tail, Tugger pushed past Munkustrap, and escorted Kairi to Old Deuteronomy, leaving Riku and Sora to follow.

He regarded calmly them for a long moment. "And who are your companions, Rum Tum Tugger?"

"Strange kittens, but yet they kill Macavity's shadow-cats as easily as I can catch a string."

"Strange cats indeed. You're from a different world, aren't you?" Old Deuteronomy smiled, and looked to the moon, eyes growing distant for a brief second. "At least you aren't mice, then."

Riku's ears swiveled. "But we were sent by Mickey."

"Oh, you know him?" The old cat smiled. "Bravest mouse I've ever met, to walk into the middle of us the way he did. He must also be wise, to not come back here himself. Why did he send you?"

"It's the the Heartless, those shadow-cats," Kairi said. "They're everywhere and it's getting worse."

"The king thinks that someone might be summoning them on purpose," Sora cut in. "But we think it would have to be a powerful magic user to do it. We don't know more than that, so we're investigating different worlds until we find out more."

"Hmm..." Old Deuteronomy looked ponderous, slowly and laboriously cleaning his claws. "Usually we can assign blame for any wicked deed done here to Macavity, but his magic is not that strong. All he can do is disappear without a trace."

"Maybe someone else is doing it without realizing the consequences?" Riku asked. "You'd be surprised what horrible things people will do if they have honest intentions."

_Like me_, he thought. And were his friends starting to learn to read minds? Kairi leaned against him and Sora licked his ear reassuringly. Maybe they just knew him well.

"You ought to ask Mr. Mistoffelees," interrupted Tugger. "There is no such cat in all the metropolis who is better at magic."

"Another cat said that," Kairi said slowly. "But she said that she didn't know where he was. Do you know if he's here?"

Old Deuteronomy whiskers twitched. "I'm sure that Mistoffelees will be here soon enough. He does love to make an entrance."

"But..." Sora started.

"Enjoy the ball," said Old Deuteronomy. "We will talk again, after I've made the Choice."

"Who will it be?" Tugger asked.

"Whoever I decide it will be," he answered. "Go! Munkustrap, you may start the performance."

Riku was pretty sure he heard the gray cat mutter "Finally!" as he stalked out to the middle of the area. Sora and Kairi hopped off the old tire and Riku followed them. They found a comfortable place to perch and watched as a number of the cats began to dance.

It was actually pretty fun to watch, and he found himself nodding in time to the music. Sometime toward the end, Kairi started to dance in place a bit.

"You know," she said. "We really should join the dancing. It looks like so much fun."

"Pollicles!" called Sora, already bounding over. "You can be a Peke!"

Kairi's snort alerted him to the danger of agreeing. "All the other toms are Pollicles."

Riku looked, trying to see under the boxes, bags, and even shoes. "I think you're right..." He trailed off as all the cats exploded in yowls imitating barks.

A cat appeared in a great leap into the ball, black and muscled, eyes glowing. For a second, Riku wondered if it was another Heartless, before the cats began to sing again, announcing that the Great Rumpuscat, de-vesting themselves of the make-shift costumes.

"Come on," cried Sora, returning. "It was lots of fun, just too short."

"Of course!" Kairi said.

They both looked at Riku.

"Fine," he agreed, not quite sure if he was going to end up embarrassing himself to the point Sora would be reminding him for the week. As if being a fluffy white cat wasn't enough.

There was a lull, as Old Deuteronomy was speaking, but after a few minutes the cats began dancing again. As Tugger had promised, they did indeed seem to be arguing about what made a Jellicle Cat. The dancing was simple, mostly following the other with improvisations, and no one was really watching him. Kairi and Sora both seemed to be really enjoying themselves, so he kept at it.

As the music continued and more cats got up to introduce themselves, he found dancing getting easier and easier. He wasn't messing up too badly, and it was a lot of fun. The songs were catchy, even if he didn't really know them. By the time a cat was done singing about his job on the railway trains, they were all ready to fall over, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd simply had fun like this.

"Who next?" Sora asked a white kitten who'd been dancing near them.

She shrugged. "I don't know, it's --oh no!" she yowled.

Riku turned to see where she was looking. Heartless. Why now? He summoned Way to Dawn and lunged at them.

They were more clever than usual Heartless -- which meant that somebody was directing them. They'd quickly separated him from Sora and Kairi. He hissed. He wasn't going to be herded by them! He fought his way over to Kairi and by unspoken agreement, they stood back to back to fight.

"What took you so long?" he asked as Sora finally cut his way over to them.

"Well, you know... things to do, places to see..." He grinned at Riku.

Riku grinned back.

Kairi laughed. "Well, as long as you always come back to us!"

Sora's reply was lost as all the light --even moonlight-- disappeared, and the area was filled with darkness. A moment later, there was light again, flickering.

In the dimness, he could see Old Deuteronomy struggling against several Heartless. With a yell, he leaped to them--

There was a resounding rumble.

--And when Riku landed, Old Deuteronomy was gone.

OoO


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:

Cowritten with urplesquirrel, and crossposted on LJ.

I kinda could of maybe have sworn that I posted this almost a month ago.

Anyways, real life has been beating me over the head, but I think that both Urple and I will start updating regularly again. We have a lot (...like 10ish?) written, but editing is pain.

And, yeah, our chapter length varies significantly.

OoO

"Macavity!" yowled several of the cats, a cacophony rising as Riku stared at the spot Old Deuteronomy had been sitting only moments ago.

"He was right there," Sora said, chagrined.

"Macavity," hissed Munkustrap. "Don't bother to look, he's not here, but his paws are in this."

Other cats crouched at the edges, half hiding in tires, fur standing on end, hissing.

"Who is he?" asked Kairi. "We heard that he was controlling the Heartless, but who is he?"

"The mastermind. The only one who could do this. We have to find Old Deuteronomy."

"How?" asked Riku. "Do you know how to find Macavity?"

"If he doesn't want to be found, he can't be found," said Munkustrap. "How could this happen? He's never been so daring as to attack the Ball itself before!"

"He couldn't have vanished completely," said Sora, firmly. "We'll find him."

Riku was still not used to how serious Sora could be these days. He was standing firm, expression calm, with the Keyblade summoned and at his side. Sometimes it was hard to reconcile this version of Sora with the silly kid he'd grown up with on the islands.

"He'll be back," Munkustrap said darkly. "He loves to taunt us if he can, but this... this is too much." He bared his teeth. "You kill his shadow-cats, but you will leave Macavity to me!"

"We can take care of the Heartless, no problem," Sora said. "What does Maca--"

A happy cry had gone up.

Edging away from the brighter patches of light, but still emerging from the shadows, were two Heartless. The movements made by them still had that awkward, bobbing quickness, but their pace was slow; between them, they led Old Deuteronomy.

Riku watched them through narrowed eyes, feeling Sora shift uneasily beside him. Kairi had gone still.

"Not him," she breathed.

Sora sprang, his Keyblade glinting in the faint light. Riku followed without thinking, Way to the Dawn instinctively summoned, Kairi was beside him, her ears flat against her head. Together, they made short work of the Heartless, as other cats leaped, attacking the impostor.

More and more Heartless came, rising out of the shadows, some of them not even cat-like, but the short, squat shadows that were simple to fight, but in great numbers overwhelming. Time blurred, his world narrowing to nothing but the fight, until behind him, Riku heard hissing and thumps. Chancing a glance back, he saw Munkustrap and another cat fighting. Macavity, he guessed and then forgot, as he saw a Heartless leap at Kairi's unprotected back.

Then there was a bright flash of light, the smell of smoke, and the street-lamps guttered and died, leaving only the moon. The Heartless moved almost as one, stepping back and then retreating, scurrying into shadows, disappearing. Riku had the sinking feeling that Macavity had used them as a distraction and --despite Munkustrap's fervor-- had escaped.

A single light came on, and one of the kittens shined it around, surveying the damage. Munkustrap was hurt, but was limping to his feet with the help of a female cat Riku didn't know.

"We've got to find Old Deuteronomy," one of the cats said mournfully. The cry was taken up by the other cats and repeated until it became a chant.

"You ought to ask magical Mr. Mistoffelees," said Tugger, perched up on an old rocking chair. "If he can't find Old Deuteronomy, there's nothing to find."

"Well, that's fine," Sora called up to Rum Tum Tugger. "But how do we find Mistoffelees?"

Tugger grinned broadly. "He's found us, kitten!"

A little black cat with a white chest and face leaped down (although from where Riku couldn't quite tell). "Presto."

The street lamps flickered back on as Tugger's grin grew. He stalked behind Mistoffelees, who danced with paws barely touching the concrete, lightly stepping where Old Deuteronomy had been, small magic already flying from his claws.

"Is there anything?" asked Sora.

Mistoffelees looked at him, nose aloof, but something almost like amusement twinkled in his eyes. He leaped to the top of a car, where Cassandra sat, a piece of cloth appearing out of thin air.

"What's he going to do?" Kairi asked.

"Don't ask me," Riku replied. "I haven't seen this kind of magic before."

Mistoffelees turned around, and pointed to Cassandra. The usually calm cat seemed incredibly excited and a bit flustered to have been picked. She came forward and he tossed the cloth over her.

There was a hush, only the rustling of the fabric making any sound. Mistoffelees rubbed his paws together and waved them over the cloth, magic settling on it like glitter. He paused, and Riku got the distinct impression he was turning this into a performance. It was working, too. Every cat was holding their breath.

With a flourish, Mistoffelees pulled the rippling fabric away, snapping it with on crisp motion.

And where the fabric had been, Old Deuteronomy stood.

Rum Tum Tugger was the first to move again. With an oddly soft look that should have been out of place on his face, he rubbed his cheek against Old Deuteronomy, almost purring. Old Deuteronomy looked at Mistoffelees, who needed no further urging to pounce and greet Old Deuteronomy by smoothing down his ruffled fur. Mistoffelees almost disappeared underneath the mob of cats that followed, rushing to welcome the old cat.

Riku caught sight of Mistoffelees, as he sneaked away from the pile. Riku trotted over, followed by Kairi and Sora. "Can we talk for a moment?"

Mistoffelees shrugged.

"We wanted to ask if you knew anything about Nobodies or who's started to summon the Heartless again," Sora said.

Ears pricked in interest, Mistoffelees made a clear motion for them to continue with one of his paws.

Kairi's whiskers twitched. "You were a lot more talkative as Quaxo."

Riku blinked, and began to see the similarities in color and shape.

"Shh, I'm in my stage persona right now. I'd rather not have half the Jellicles looking and finding me when they only think they need me."

Oh. That made sense. People were people, even if those people happened to be cats.

"But do tell me about the Heartless," the little tom said, tilting his head to the side. "Nasty things. Who would try to summon them on purpose?"

"That's what we're hoping to figure out," Riku said. "But I don't think Macavity is summoning them. I think he's just using the ones that pass through your world."

Mistoffelees nodded. "He would. And no, if anyone here were summoning them, I'd know. And put a stop to it."

Sora sighed. "Oh well. I guess we'll have to try at the next world. But, while we're here..."

Mistoffelees ears pricked. "Yes?"

"You know how Kairi and I are two cats?" Sora said. "Do you know anything about how we could really be two cats?"

Mistoffelees looked at them and then sighed. "I'm afraid not. Conjuring and illusions are one thing, but I don't have the first idea on how to separate you. Although... There was one time when I went to another world, and there were some witches there. They might be able to help you." He paused to lick at his fur. "I do think that they knew entirely too much."

"Mickey wouldn't mind us asking some other magicians, as long as we ask about the Heartless too," Riku said slowly. That was true. He wouldn't mind, and visiting a few more worlds might find them the answer before they had to go anywhere... _unpleasant_.

"Where is it?" asked Sora excited.

"It's not so easy to say. I went as Jellciles can, but I don't think that would work so well for you."

Riku looked to the sky, and saw stars. He waved at them with a paw. "Do you know which star it was?"

"Oh yes, the one to the left of the moon, right where that cloud ends."

Sora whooped.

"Thank you," said Kairi, only touch more sedately.

Sora paused suddenly, ears pricking. "We're going to try anyway," he said after a moment.

Riku gave him a look.

"Oh, Roxas again," Sora explained.

"Right." He was really starting to get a little bit sick of that. Getting snippets of Sora's conversations with Roxas was frustrating. He found it annoying in an irrational way that Sora was talking with someone right next to him and he couldn't hear what they were talking about. He resisted the urge to sigh.

Somewhere, a cat was singing. Mistoffelees perked up. "Ah! It'll be dawn soon. Old Deuteronomy will make the Choice in just a few minutes." He brushed past them. "Come. We'll be able to hear."

They joined the cats near Old Deuteronomy. Mistoffelees sat next to Cassandra (and when had she returned, exactly?) and Riku sat a bit out of the way with Sora and Kairi. Old Deuteronomy looked over the assembled cats, and then beyond them. Riku followed his gaze and saw the tattered cat from before, Grizabella.

Again, the cats stared at her. The white kitten came quite close to touching her, but was pulled away by an older cat. Tugger approached her and swept her a mocking bow, but she didn't falter as she continued her slow approach.

The fatalistic misery in Grizabella's steps reminded Riku of brief, thoroughly unexpected moment of despair when Sora had seen him only as Xehanort's Heartless. He'd _known_ that he was unrecognizable, and hadn't even _wanted_ to be recognized as Riku, but it had hurt, still.

He watched the other cats pull away from her, and found himself stepping forward.

And then she began to sing, her song carrying clearly across the Ball. Cats stopped, listening. The melody was haunting, rising and falling. She called for the next dawn to come, and Riku thought of his own Keyblade, Way to the Dawn, and all that encompassed within him.

He and the purely white kitten both moved at the same moment towards her, and then kitten paused, and he continued on.

The song continued, and she told them of her loss, of what she used to be, and her dream of a new life. Her fragile hopes, her emptiness at each new morning, and her longing for someone to reach out to her. As the song ended, she turned away.

Riku reached out. There was a moment where nothing happened, and then Grizabella turned back to him, shock and joy written on her face.

"I understand," he said softly, and pushed her toward the white kitten, who nuzzled her in welcome.

The Jellicles converged on her. Some were still hesitant, but they weren't shying away from her anymore. As each cat greeted her, Grizabella's face grew more and more awestruck, as if she simply couldn't believe this was happening.

"That was a good thing you did," Kairi said, learning up against him, purring.

"You say that like you wouldn't have done the same thing," Riku replied.

"I would've, but you got there first."

Sora had ducked away from the cats, and rested his head on Riku's shoulder, purring as well.

Riku knew that he was grinning like an idiot now, but didn't care. For moment, he wished that he was in his own body again. He wanted to put his arms around both of them, and squeeze them both tightly, to thank them for all the faith they'd had in him over the years.

The look on her face melted into incredulous relief and joy, as he led her towards the edge of the ball, towards the moon. The cats begun to chant, and Riku made out the words "to the Heaviside Layer," and knew without a doubt that the Choice had been made.

"It almost doesn't seem right," Kairi whispered into his ear. "She just got accepted back, and now she has to go?"

"She's being reborn," Riku murmured back. "I don't think that means she's not coming back."

Kairi leaned against him again. She looked like she wanted to say something to him, but settled for grooming his fur.

Riku didn't acknowledge what was left unsaid. He would have missed them desperately if that had happened to him too.

After that, the Ball lost momentum, becoming slower and slow, cats breaking away, to skitter home. By the time the sun rose, there were only a handful of milling cats, looking almost normal in the daylight. Silently, they retraced their steps of the night.

"Where's the gummi ship?" asked Kairi as they came to where they had landed, but without the ship in sight.

"Oh," said Sora. "You just have to get a certain--"

Bright light seared Riku's eyes. Sora's silhouette burned into his mind. He found himself tottering for a moment, and then balanced firmly on two legs again.

"--knack for it," Sora finished.

Riku blinked, flexing his hands, watching the play of muscles. He'd never thought it would feel weird to have _hands_.

"Next world?" Kairi said with barely contained excitement.

"It's waiting," grinned Sora.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N:

Cowritten with urplesquirrel, and crossposted on LJ.

Real life happened. Sorry.

OoO

Sora's initial plan had been to push the gummi ship as fast as it could go, the hope of a solution urging him onward to the next world. Riku had vetoed the plan, all but sitting on him until he and Kairi slept and ate.

"After all," Riku said around a sandwich. "Who knows what bodies we'll end up in? I don't feel like hunting mice for dinner."

Sora agreed with him silently, trying not to think about his time in the Pride Lands very hard. Instead, he stared out the window at the world the gummi ship floated around. He could make out trees, a castle, and what looked like a few more unhealthy trees. There wasn't much he could glean from it. There might be a princess or a prince living in the castle, and probably a forest.

Beside him, Kairi wrapped up the leftover bread and jam, stowing them back with the stuff Sora's mother had packed them. Both of them stared at Riku as he finished the last half of his sandwich. He ate the crust with agonizing slowness, almost smirking until Kairi swooped up the last of it, shoving it in her mouth.

"Now?" she asked around it, cheeks puffed.

Riku rolled his eyes, grinning.

Sora shoved him slightly as he went by, ducking under the half hearted swipe. Finally, he started the landing sequence. The ship hummed louder, light flashed, and then solid soil was under his feet.

He looked around. They'd landed in a forest somewhere. There was dappled sunlight through the trees, and the air was warm.

"Well, this seems nice," Kairi said, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. She and Riku hadn't quite mastered the art of keeping their balance when landing on a new world. It would take at least one more, he guessed.

"Yeah," Sora said. "Let's start looking for those people Mistoffelees told us about."

"Where do we start?" Riku asked, looking skeptical.

"Find someone to talk to, I guess," Sora replied. There was usually someone around whenever he landed on a new world, not too far away.

"Does that always work?" Kairi wondered.

"Most of the time!"

"Shh." Riku put up his hand, motioning for them to stop.

There was a rustling noise in the underbrush nearby. There was no wind stirring the trees. After a moment of frozen silence between the three, the noise grew louder, becoming more defined.

Sora grinned at Kairi.

The brush rustled again, and a small pig pushed its way through the bushes. Sora's face fell a bit. He'd been hoping for a person, but you never knew. It could be a talking pig. It was looking at them with a clear intelligence in its eyes.

"Hello," he said, looking at it. "Where did you come from?"

He took a step toward it and the pig squealed, then ran.

"So, I guess that it doesn't always work?" Riku smirked at him.

"No, it worked! That's not a wild pig, so someone must live around here!" He started to run after the pig. "Come on!"

He heard what could have been a laugh or a yelp from Riku as Kairi grabbed his hand, following him.

The pig was faster than Sora thought it would be, squirming under brambles the Sora had to go around. He ducked under a tree branch, glancing at Kairi and Riku.

"I think we might lose it soon," Riku called.

"Maybe we should try to surround it?" Kairi suggested. "But I'm not sure how well that would work for it leading us to people."

"We'd only be herding it," Riku panted, leaping over a fallen tree.

"There's a pool up there with stepping stones." Sora reported, as the pig slowed, leaping ungracefully to the first. They were too evenly spaced to be natural.

The stone shifted unnervingly under his feet. He kept his balance (just barely) and looked to see the pig on the other side of the pond, panting from exertion.

"Come here," Kairi said softly, holding out her hand. "We aren't going to hurt you." She moved towards the pig, very carefully.

The pig didn't run away, its snout twitching in their direction.

"We didn't mean to scare you," Kairi continued, her voice quiet and soothing. The pig shifted, and slid down the muddy embankment, ending up in the water. It shook its head.

The water started to move.

The stepping stones disappeared, the water rising up and then spinning, like a drain, but in reverse with more and more water pouring out every second. Then, it touched the pig, and the pig was engulfed by the water. With almost finger-like waves, the pig was dragged to the center of the pool. Kairi stepped forward trying to catch it, but the moment her feet were in the water, the waves sought her too. With a strangled yell, Sora jumped to grab her arms as Riku summoned his Keyblade, whacking at the seeking water to no avail. Finally, he grabbed Sora's waist, and then nearby tree that was little more than a sapling, trying to anchor them.

The water tugged harder, and Kairi cried as Riku groaned, trying to hold tightly to the tree as Sora felt he was being torn in half. Then water shifted, coming first to Sora's ankles and then to Sora's knees.

There was a loud snap and they tumbled through the water, down.

They came to rest a minute later, on some damp but otherwise quite normal ground. Sora hacked several times - he'd inhaled water at some point in their descent, and he felt a bit like he needed to throw up.

"Kairi?" he coughed. "Riku?"

Riku groaned. "Are you two okay?"

"A little banged up, but I think so," Kairi answered. "What just happened?"

"I think the pond ate us," said Riku, flopping back into the mud. "Where the heck are we?"

Sora coughed a few more times, but his throat felt better. "I don't know." He looked up. "We're under the pond!" He pointed. "There it is, up there."

Kairi got to her feet. "It must be some kind of magic." She looked around. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

There was no answer, but the silence had a distinct quality of someone listening.

"We just want to talk," Sora said. "We were following the pig to find someone to talk to."

There were soft noises, something just on the edges of Sora's hearing.

"A friendly visit?" asked a voice.

"Yes--" Sora began.

"My whirlpool!" A small fairy, grey-breaded, dressed in buttercup yellow buzzed towards them, making Sora think of Tinkerbell at her most disgruntled. "What have you done?" The fairy buzzed up, inspecting the pond above them and then following a leak. "You've broken it!"

"We're sorry," Kairi apologized. "But it kinda sucked us in."

The fairy frowned, wings beating agitated, and he rose up nearly a foot in the air.

"Impossible!" snapped the fairy. "It keeps people we don't want out! You must've done something to it."

"It has been leaking for a while now, Doli," said another fairy, glowing faintly blue. "You said it wasn't a problem."

"It wasn't until they broke it!" the fairy yelled.

"Then you best get to fixing it," said another fairy. He was also bearded, dressed in red. He flew up to Sora. "I'm King Eidilleg. You said that you were looking for someone to talk to?"

"Well, we came here specifically looking for some witches," Sora said. "We have a problem --two of them, actually."

King Eidilleg sank in the air. "Witches?" he repeated faintly.

"Yes."

"Witches.. aren't always the nicest of beings. I don't suppose you know which ones you're looking for?" he added hopefully.

"Not really," Kairi sighed.

King Eidilleg sighed.

Doli had flown away, and returned with several large leaves, dragging them to under the leaks. "Are you lot just going to stand there?" he snapped.

"Oh, sorry," said Sora, taking one of the free leaves and putting it under the leak beside him, that kept splashing his shoes.

"I don't suppose any of you know about the Heartless?" Kairi asked the fairies, as she patched a leak above her head. "While we're here, we might as well ask."

"Heartless?" Eidilleg squeaked. "You mean those awful creatures the Horned King has?"

"Well, I dunno about the horned king," Sora said. "But the Heartless are pretty awful. We're trying to figure out where they're coming from."

"We don't know where he's getting them," said Eidilleg. "As if his thugs and the gwythaints weren't bad enough. There's a reason we're staying down here."

Sora pursed his lips. That sounded like trouble. Technically, he probably wasn't supposed to be interfering in other worlds - but he had never followed that rule, and if these people needed help... Well, he was a hero.

"He doesn't sound so tough," Sora declared. "I bet we could help."

Doli snorted, and Eidilleg looked worriedly at him and then to Sora.

"As much as I would like someone to do something, are you sure you could?"

Sora nodded.

Eidilleg took off his hat, twisting it. "There's not much that we can do, I'm afraid. Against them above, well, there's not much any of the Fair Folk can do."

Doli poked his head out from the makeshift stick scaffolding he started to construct after shooing Riku away. "And just why should we stick out our neck for them. I don't think more than three of them lifted a finger to help us before."

Eidilleg was silent, but Sora had the creeping suspicion that he somewhat agreed with Doli, or at least wanted them gone.

Eidilleg finally doffed his hat again, tugging it tightly down. "Anyways, I'm sure that we can find something to dry you off with."

A few of the fairies - just kids, they looked like - directed them down the tunnel. It was clearly magic, because it shortly opened onto a grassy field. It was well-lit, but there was no sun in the sky, or any other light source. Sora looked around it wonder.

"Wow."

"We found your pig, too," said one of the kids. "She's over there."

Sure enough, the pig was there, looking much happier. The fairy children turned into faint sparkles and flew away.

"Now what do we do?" Riku asked, sitting down.

"I think we ought to try and find out more," Kairi said. "This wasn't one of the worlds on our list, so we don't know specifically who or what we're looking for."

"You're from another world?" said one of the fairy children, suddenly reappearing by her ear.

Sora grinned. "Yup. We're from a world made up of islands."

The fairy children drifted closer. "Then why are you here? That sounds like more fun than this."

"What are the islands like?" interrupted another fairy child.

"Well," said Kairi. "We're looking for someone, and the islands are a lot more sunny than here..."

The fairy children seemed entranced by the idea of the islands, but Sora slowly begun to realize that most of them hadn't even been in sunlight before. The Fair Folk had hidden themselves away long before they had been born.

Sora had to wonder if this Horned King was even still alive. They sounded like they had been isolated too long.

Then, there was another noise, water splashing and shouting too loud to be a fairy's.

"Oh, no," said one of the children. "That was the whirpool again."

"Let's check it out," Sora said, hopping to his feet.

The pig trotted after them.

"Oh, she likes us now?" Riku asked. "It would've saved us a lot of trouble if she had an hour ago."

Kairi laughed.

They entered the tunnel again and came back up towards the entrance, where Doli was yelling loudly at another small group of people who had fallen in.

"Holds for decades without a problem, and then it breaks twice in one day!" he was yelling. "Six humans! Six!"

"There are other people here?" said a boy's voice.

"And the pig," grumped Doli.

"The pig?" repeated the boy. "Hen Wen?"

The pig dashed forward, squealing.

Coming around the corner after Hen Wen, Sora could see three people and a furry creature that looked like a cross between a dog and a monkey. One of them was them boy that had spoke, happy tossing around the pig. Another was an older man, examining a harp. A girl stood beside him, wringing out her skirts.

"Oh, hello there!" she said cheerfully. "I was just saying that I'm Princess Eilonwy and these are Fflewdurr and Taran. We'd just escaped from the Horned King. And you are?"

"Hi!" Sora said, recognizing a kindred cheerful soul. "I'm Sora, and these are my friends Riku and Kairi. We just got stuck in the whirlpool while following that pig."

"Why were you following Hen-Wen?" asked Taran, looking at them warily.

"We were hoping to find some people," Sora said. "And it worked, even if it wasn't what we expected."

"You escaped the Horned King?" Eidilleg cut in. "Good heavens! How did you manage it?"

"Mostly luck," said Princess Eilonwy.

"Hey!" Taran protested. "I got us out of there."

"But it was only because you got lucky and found the sword," Eilonwy pointed out.

"So," Riku cut in over the argument. "We don't know very much about the Horned King."

"Oh, he's a most awful king," Eilonwy said, shuddering. "Why he--"

"The black cauldron!" interrupted Taran. "Do you know where it is? He's looking for it, you see. If he finds it, we'll all be dead."

"Oh, but that's safe in Morva," Eidilleg said.

"Morva?" echoed Taran.

"Yes, I'm mostly sure it is," Eidilleg said, fluttering. "Doli, do you--"

"How am I supposed to know? Is that one of my jobs now?" Doli grumped, looking over his broken repair job.

Eidilleg waited.

Doli kicked one of the leaves and then flew up. "Yes, it was last seen in Morva. _Those _witches have it."

"Witches?" asked Sora. If they were hiding something that sounded so important, maybe they knew something about the Heartless or how to get create bodies for Roxas and Naminé.

"Yes," said Doli. "And it's quite safe with them."

"It may not be," said Taran. "The Horned King is looking for it. That's why he kidnapped Eilonwy and my pig." At Sora's look, he added, "She's a magical pig."

"What are you getting at?" asked Fflewdurr.

"What if we could get the Black Cauldron before he does, and destroy it?" Taran asked, looking excited and a bit nervous at the same time.

"Oh, Taran -" Eilonwy started.

"Don't you see?" he continued. "If we destroy the cauldron, it would stop the Horned King!"

Eidilleg looked thoughtful for a moment. "That could work, for all of you. They want to go see witches too, and well, those witches most powerful I know of."

Doli grunted, sounding satisfied.

"But Morva, that's a hard place to get to, Doli should go with you."

Doli looked outraged, but nodded. "Let's go now," he said. In an undertone that Sora was sure someone was meant to overhear, he added, "Before more blasted humans drop in."

OoO

They made good time through the forest, and despite Doli's grumbling, Sora was having a good time. Taran, Fflewdurr and Eilonwy were good company, their occasional lapses into bickering more entertaining than anything else. Taran explained about how they had escaped from the castle, and showed off with the sword for a little bit. Sora responded in kind, summoning his Keyblade and explaining that even though it looked funny, it was very powerful, so Taran could stop snickering any time now.

The walk was more or less downhill, and slowly the ground became more marshy and the trees thinned out. Their progress slowed as they tried to pick their way through the ankle deep mud, as Doli loudly complained that any sensible people ought to have wings.

"Well, this is it," he finally said. "Morva."

"Gloomy," Kairi observed, looking around the swamp. "I can see why you would live here if you didn't want to be bothered."

Sora looked out over the flat land, with a few scraggly trees and things too small to be hills but a bit larger than knolls. He frowned. There was something off about this place – the sky was clear, but somehow the sun seemed weaker than it should be. And though he should've been happy for it, they hadn't seen a Heartless yet and it was bothering him.

"Still a ways to go," Doli said. "Hurry up!"

"I'm not sure that it's just Heartless," Riku said. "As it is, I think I'd be a little bit happier if this place was crawling with them. At least then I'd know what the problem was."

Sora didn't really have a response to that, so he squeezed Riku's shoulder and hurried to catch up before Doli got angry and yelled at them again.

Riku put a hand on Sora's elbow and tugged him towards the rear of the group as they walked. "I've already told Kairi," he began. "But I don't like this place. There might be no Heartless, but I can _feel_ the darkness."

Sora had to agree.

The swamp only got worse as they went farther.

"Oh, this is such a dreary place," Eilonwy said, neatly sidestepping a puddle.

"I agree," Kairi said. "I don't like it at all. The sooner we find these witches, the better."

"We've been walking for so long," Fflewdurr said. "Are you sure we aren't lost, Doli?"

"Positive," Doli grumped. "I know it's around here somewhere."

"Maybe if we climb that hill, we'll be able to see it?" suggested Sora, pointing at a steep hill with flattened grass.

"That's not a hill," Riku started to say.

"That's thatching!" cried Fflewdurr excitedly. "I can make out windows too!"

"I said it was around here somewhere," Doli muttered. "If that's all, I'll be gone."

Just as Kairi started to thank him, he disappeared, leaving only a faded glimmering that soon died.

"I suppose we should go there now," said Eilonwy. "Maybe they'll have tea. In this place, not having tea would be like trying to sleep without a blanket, I think."

"I just hope the really do have the Black Cauldron," Taran said.

"Nuh-uh!" said the creature. "Gurgi not like this place."

Eilonwy was peering in one of the windows. "It seems empty. We should take a look."

Taran pushed on the door, and it creaked open with an undeniably ominous sound.

They all peered around. The inside was cluttered with a multitude of things in all shapes and sizes. It was a complete mess, even more so than his mother thought his room was.

"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone here?"

There was no answer.

"Well, let's at least look for it," said Taran, going in.

It was just as much of a mess on the inside as it looked to be on the out. It smelled of rotting wood and cobwebs partially covered the corners.

Riku looked the dishes on the table, picking them up and peering inside a pitcher.

"I don't think the Cauldron would be there," Taran said as he opened the lid of a chest.

Frogs came boiling out, filling the room. Eilonwy's screams were almost drowned out by the croaking. Almost as one they fled the dwelling, leaping out the door and windows.

"They're only--" Taran started to say.

A crash. The wooden cup Riku had been trying to put back on the table was off by more than a foot. His eyes were following the frogs.

"Riku?" asked Kairi.

"People." He swallowed. "They were people who had been turned into frogs."

"What?" Sora echoed.

"We should get out of here - " Riku started, and was interrupted by Gurgi.

"Gurgi found it! Gurgi found evil cauldron," He grabbed Taran by the hand and pulled him to a door. "Come!"

They followed, but Sora was much shaken. People? What had they gotten themselves into? Were these witches like Maleficent or Ursula?

"Behold, master!" Gurgi said, gesturing at the room.

It was filled to the brim with cauldrons, all different sizes, in many colors.

"There are so many!" said Eilonwy. "How will we know which one?"

"Doesn't matter-" Riku tried again.

"Thieves! _Thieves_!" The shriek came from the other room, shrill and harsh.

"Someone has stolen our frogs," said another voice, with commanding presence to it that was close enough to Maleficent to make Sora shudder.

A cloud of smoke, and then three women stood with them, faces harsh and unforgiving. They all had pale skin that looked sickly, but was a shade too gray to be strictly human. Their hair was red and wild, and would have hung limp if it wasn't knotted with snarls and tangles. The tallest and the shortest were both ugly, with long, crooked noses and warts. The middle one would've probably been just as ugly as the other two, but she had so much make-up caked onto her face it was hard to tell what she looked like. They stood together, like a copse of twisted trees. The tall one moved toward them, clearly enraged.

"You nasty, nasty people!" she cried. "You shall be turned into frogs and eaten for stealing from us!"

Uh-oh. They were in serious trouble now. Roxas was stirring in his mind, watching intently.

_Don't summon the Keyblade yet_, Roxas advised, _Keep the element of surprise._

_They're going to eat us!_ Sora protested.

_They want us to be afraid, that's why they haven't already done it, _Roxas insisted. _Wait. Just trust me._

"Wait, sisters," said the shortest witch. "These two have unusual hearts." She peered at him. "Why, you have a Nobody inside you!"

: The tallest one, the one who made him think of Maleficent (though they looked nothing alike) looked at him, her eyes narrowing. "Yes, I think we can get rid of it for a price, of course." She then looked at Kairi, frowning.

"What we've come for is the Black Cauldron," said Taran, cutting in.

"The Black Cauldron?" repeated one of the witches, before her sisters swung around her, glaring back at them.

"Not possible," announced the tallest. "But could I interest you in other perfectly serviceable cookware? We have pots and pans, a skillet, a teapot, a--"

There was a loud clatter as the pots and pans and other metalware fell to the ground, split asunder. In Taran's hands, the sword that he and Eilonwy had argued about glowed brightly, almost too brightly to look at, outshining the pale sun outside.

The tallest witch gathered her sisters and they formed a rough circle, talking in a quiet rush that Sora couldn't make out. Then, all at once, they cackled together, sounding like a flock of ravens and broke apart, and the tallest witch suddenly flew to Taran.

"We do not give anything away," said the tall witch. "We barter. If you want the cauldron, or those Nobodies of yours taken out, you'll have to give us something worth our time."

"That marvelous sword of yours," suggested the fat witch. She looked at Sora and grinned. "Or yours, Keyblade Master."

"The Keyblade?" Sora summoned it and looked at it.

"For the Keyblade, we'll get rid of that Nobody," said the short witch. "And hers, too."

"I don't want to get rid of Roxas," Sora said. "I just want him to be able to be separate from me."

"We can do that, too," said the tallest witch, in an oily-smooth tone that made Sora shiver. "A Keyblade for our collection would be worth powerful magic indeed."

_Sora,_ Roxas warned. _I don't trust them. _

Sora agreed silently, the Keyblade still tightly gripped in his hands.

"There's also the matter of information," Sora added. "We need to know who is summoning the Heartless from all these worlds again.

The witches looked at each other, and the tallest nodded sharply. "One Keyblade for the separation of both Nobodies and the knowledge of who is commanding the Heartless."

"Sora!" Kairi cried. "No!"

Sora winced. It hadn't been something he had been seriously considering, not really. Well, not that particular offer. He had been thinking about maybe one or two of the Keychains he had, but not the Keyblade itself. But just knowing that it was possible was enough to make the side-trip worth it.

"No," Kairi said again, this time steel in her voice. "If anyone would be giving up their Keyblade, it would be me. I've only--"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the tall witched tutted, eyes hooded. "But your Keyblade is only worth one of those things, gosling. It's just not that powerful compared to the other two. If you had something else to offer, maybe. But there's so very little that is more valuable than a keyblade."

Kairi's mouth was set in a firm line, but other than that she seemed unaffected by the witch's intimidation attempt. Sora really admired her courage. He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but you can't have the Keyblade. Any of them. I don't think they're really ours to give away."

"There's nothing you'll offer us?" The witch said sweetly, or at least, what she obviously _thought_ was sweetly, "We can do anything at all for the right price."

"Your price is wrong for us," Riku said sharply.

The witch gave him a look with so much distate in it Sora got chills, but she turned her attention to Taran. "You? You want the Black Cauldron?"

Taran looked upset, but squared his shoulders. "All right. I know what you want."

"Yes?" the witch crooned.

"The sword," said Taran, drawing it and offering it to her. "It's my most treasured possession."

"Now, duckling, it doesn't work by that rule, but it will do." The tallest witch swept over to him, her hands hovering above the sword. "You do realize that with this sword you could become the greatest warrior of Prydain? That this is the sword that would make your dreams come true?"

Sora blinked and looked her face more closely.

_She's not warning him_, Roxas said, confirming his suspicions. _She's taking pleasure in this. And she still thinks she's getting the better end of this._

"Yes," said Taran, brokenly. "But we must have the Black Cauldron."

His hands shook, the sword barely staying level.

"Wait," said Sora. "Would you bargain with the Horned King, if he wanted it?" They seemed too powerful to be outright attacked, Sora thought. Stealing it was out of the question as well. If they had any sort of sense, it would be in a magical hiding spot.

"Of course we would," cried the shortest witch. "Which we might end up doing if we don't get what we want from you."

_She has them_, Roxas said.

Fflewdurr's face was ashen, and Eilonwy had gasped.

Taran's fingers tightened on the sword, but he loosened his grip. "I give you my sword in exchange for the Black Cauldron."

"Agreed!" said the tall witch. "We have made a bargain."

She swept her hand over the sword and it vanished under her cloak. A moment later, the witches vanished and the whole cottage began to rumble. The thatch flew up off the roof and the other items in the cottage began to lift off.

_Duck!_ Roxas yelled as one of the other cauldrons whizzed past his ear. Sora hit the ground.

Just as the rest of the cottage vanished, the ground began to shake, and they scrambled out of the way as something huge was pushed up from the ground.

"Look!" said Eilonwy.

"The Black Cauldron! It's ours!" Taran cried, looking triumphant.

There, sitting where the cottage had been, was the cauldron. It was a dull black, and larger than any Sora had seen before, but still gave the impression that it was squat, bound to the soil. It still loomed over them. And Sora wasn't sure, but it almost looked like there was a face, gleaming in the metal.

A shriek of cackling laughter came from above.

_Gloating_, spat Roxas. _They are the type to do it. _

"I say, what funny little ducklings!"

Sora turned, trying to see them, and then slowly, he made them out in the clouds.

"Don't they know that the Black Cauldron is indestructible?"

_And there's the catch._

"Now listen carefully. The Black Cauldron cannot be destroyed. Only its evil powers can be stopped - for a time."

"How?" Riku asked, his lip curling in distaste.

"A living being must climb into it of his own free will."

Gurgi hopped up, looking cheerful. "Gurgi is bold and brave! He will do it!"

He started for the cauldron, but Fflewdurr grabbed him. "Wait. There's more to it than that. There must be."

"Too true," the witch crooned. "The poor duckling will never climb out alive!"

Gurgi squeaked and leapt back from the cauldron. Sora glared at the witches. "You tricked us!"

"We gave you the cauldron, as agreed! It's not our fault you can't do anything with it."

_And there's the other catch._ Roxas hissed, _Now there's nothing defending the cauldron_.

_Except us._ Sora reminded him. _If the Horned King comes for it, we'll beat him. And then we won't need to worry about him getting the cauldron._

"Goodbye, goslings," trilled the witch. "Remember, we always keep a bargain."

The lower clouds scuttled away, thunder crashing.

"They must eat ducks and geese when they're tired of frogs," muttered Riku, sounding unsteady.

Never _trust anything that can eat you_.

"We need to get undercover and find someplace to camp for the night," Kairi said. She still stared at the fading clouds in the distance.

Sora blinked, clearing his head.

_If the Horned King has winged Heartless, they'll find us_, Roxas agreed.

Sora repeated the words to the others.

"The gwythaints!" cried Eilonwy. "They'll see us in an instant."

"Do you think we can move the Cauldron?" Taran asked dubiously.

Kairi looked at it, and shivered. "We could, but I don't think we should. It's too evil. I don't want to touch it."

"Then I guess we'll camp here and keep an eye on it," Sora said, though he didn't like the idea. This place was creepy.

_Not very defensible, either_, Roxas added. _It's open on all sides, and it's not even on any high ground to speak of._

_You've been talking a lot more_, Sora noticed. _Are you changing your mind about fading?_

If he was, there might have been a little benefit in all this mess after all.

_No,_ Roxas said, _But this place is dangerous, and you might need my help to get out safely_.

Sora sighed, and began to look for some wood dry enough to start a fire with.

_Should you even be doing that? _Roxas asked.

"What? We need something to keep warm, and it's getting dark." He answered out loud, just to try and fill the tense hush – despite the fact that everyone was talking, it still felt quiet.

_And nothing is going to bring searchers faster than the only light for miles around. Trust me on this._

"It will miserable without a fire." Sora argued, though he knew Roxas was probably right.

_It'll be miserable with one,_ Roxas pointed out. _...Have you looked at Kairi?_

Sora frowned. She was talking with Fflewdurr, and looked normal enough. She sounded like she was checking what food they had with them (not much) and offering the food that they had brought (enough to feed an army... or at least Sora and Riku, he remembered his mother saying).

"If we're just having the stuff from Mom, I don't think we're going to need a fire," Sora agreed, sighing. "I guess you might be right. It would seem odd out in the middle of here."

There was something like a sigh. _I just hope those witches don't sell you out_.

OoO

The night got very cold very quickly. Sora was a bit more used to it than the others, but even he started to feel the chill after a bit. Kairi in particular was having trouble, so he and Riku sat on either side of her to help keep her warm, and after a while, they began to doze off, tangled up in a pile.

It was sometime in the middle of the night when Sora woke up. Kairi had gotten up, and Riku was sitting up as well.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked.

"I just... I hate this. I hate feeling useless," Kairi said softly. "We can't do a thing about the cauldron and I can't sleep with it looming over me. And I was already feeling a little useless because I'm so far behind you guys in skill... maybe I should have traded my Keyblade for Roxas and Naminé."

"Kairi," breathed Riku. "No. You were right not to."

"I've had it for what, less than a month? I've fought Heartless only handful of times, and you guys don't need my help there. To have Naminé and Roxas would be worth it."

"Was that why you were getting up?" Riku hissed urgently, standing. "To see if you could find or call up those witches?"

Sora wondered if it would help if he tried to talk to Kairi now. Riku sounded almost angry now, which really meant he was terrified she would.

Kairi was silent.

"Like you said," Riku said, much more gently, "you've had it for a month. Of course you aren't as good as we are yet. And we haven't needed your help yet, but we will eventually, and then where would we be?"

Kairi sighed. "You really stink at the 'cheering me up' part of this, you know."

There was a quiet noise, slightly wet, and Sora's eyes were open in a sudden feeling of panic.

But no, Riku hadn't kissed her. They were still a foot apart, and the noise had apparently been Riku sucking his teeth to avoid saying something rude. Sora felt a little bit stupid for not recognizing it - he'd heard it a thousand times before.

He breathed a small sigh of relief, and sat up, looping his arm around Kairi's waist.

"It's okay," he said. "You wouldn't believe how useless I've felt sometimes. It always gets better."

He didn't go into any details about the times he'd felt useless. It would just put Riku in a bad mood.

"So don't go looking for the scary witches," he advised. "'Cause if you take their deal, then you'll feel useless and stupid to boot, which is way worse."

Kairi relaxed into his hug. "Thanks. Both of you. I know it already, but that doesn't stop me from feeling it."

"It'll look better after some sleep," Riku said, joining the hug.

They lay back down. Riku offered Kairi his arm for a pillow, his hand resting on her shoulder nearest to Sora. Sora threw another arm over her, curling his fingers around her other shoulder. He felt almost guilty that they both were almost trapping her, but Riku could read her moods as well as Sora. Neither of them wanted to leave the possibility that she could go without waking them.

Kairi sighed once, deeply. "Thanks."

"No problem," replied Sora, seeing Riku's grip briefly tighten and then relax.

"It was pretty stu--"

"Sleep," said Riku roughly, interrupting her. "I'm sure we're all short of it."

Kairi only sighed again, this one sounding more relieved. She moved once, turning slightly and then her breathing fell steady, mingling with Riku's.

Sora could only stare into the sky, watching it lighten ever so slightly as false dawn came. If he turned his head, he could see Kairi and Riku, Kairi's head lolled slightly, turning into the nearest source of heat. She'd cuddled closer to him, and his other arm had wrapped around her waist, almost touching Sora. It made him feel altogether lonely and yet it was tantalizing.

What would have happened if Riku had kissed Kairi?

OoO


End file.
